HO CHI MINH CITY/HONG KONG -- A supertyphoon has forced Vietnam to shutter four airports for a day, delaying hundreds of flights around the capital, while also interrupting tourist activities and factories of Apple suppliers and other businesses that have moved supply chains from China. Meanwhile, the same typhoon closed down Hong Kong's stock market on Friday.
Vietnam's civil aviation authority, CAAV, said about 240 domestic and 70 international flights would be suspended on Saturday to "ensure absolute safety" and "prevent the impact of the storm on the technical infrastructure."
Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha said Vietnam had to seize the "golden moment" to prepare for Typhoon Yagi, forecast to hit airports in the cities of Hanoi and Thanh Hoa, the port city of Haiphong and the province of Quang Ninh, location of the UNESCO heritage site Ha Long Bay and many large factories for companies including Vietnam's electric vehicle maker VinFast, plus Apple suppliers Pegatron and USI.
As the megastorm barrels through the Gulf of Tonkin, the tropical country is watching for potential impacts on oil and gas fields in the South China Sea, northern mining operations, the power grid, hydropower dams, fish farms and rice paddies.
The government said on its website that authorities were sending alerts to residents, ordering evacuations of fishing boats and homes vulnerable to flash floods and landslides, putting emergency personnel and vehicles on standby, pruning trees and checking infrastructure like reservoirs and dikes. Local media reported hundreds of travelers' cruises were canceled in Ha Long Bay, where companies often sail sleeper ships for overnight tours of the olive-green hills and waters.
Last month, Vietnam was near the top of Gallup rankings of nations that made effective use of disaster plans and early warnings. The flood-prone Southeast Asian country has a 3,000-km seaboard and is in the middle of monsoon season. The government forecast Yagi could bring 8-meter waves and fierce winds stretching across the storm's 250-km radius.
Supertyphoon Yagi already left its mark before hitting Vietnam.
The Hong Kong Observatory issued the tropical cyclone warning signal No. 8, one of the highest alert levels which forces everyday activities to be restricted.
As the warning was issued Thursday evening, the Hong Kong Exchange canceled the after-hours trading that day. As it was held at noon local time, the trading of securities and derivatives for Friday has been canceled, according to the longstanding arrangement in the city.
However, this could possibly be the last time we witness the market closure due to extreme weather in Hong Kong, as the new rule will be in effect from Sept. 23. The decades-long practice was recently amended, as the local government intends to shore up the market's competitiveness, in the face of rising rivalries with regional bourses.
Besides the financial markets, government functions and private sectors halted ordinary activities. All hearings of the courts and tribunals were adjourned on Friday and rescheduled for next week. Schoolchildren were affected as well, as all classes of all schools in the city from kindergarten to secondary schools were closed for the full day, except for evening schools which will resume as the typhoon warning was downgraded at 12:40 p.m. local time.
According to the local authorities, dozens of incidents of fallen trees and a single case of flooding and landslide have been confirmed. Nine people were injured due to the typhoon, but no deaths have been reported.
