Typhoon Kajiki kills 3 in Vietnam, floods Hanoi streets

Waves approach Cua Lo beach, while Typhoon Kajiki approaches Nghe An province, Vietnam. (Courtesy: Reuters photo)

Typhoon Kajiki killed at least three people and injured 10 others in Vietnam, authorities said on Tuesday as they warned that heavy rains could cause flooding and landslides.

The storm damaged nearly 7,000 homes, inundated 28,800 hectares of rice plantings and felled 18,000 trees, the government said in a statement. It also brought down 331 electricity poles, causing widespread blackouts in Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Thai Nguyen and Phu Tho provinces.

Photos on state media showed streets in the capital Hanoi were severely flooded as heavy rains fell on Tuesday morning.

After making landfall on Vietnam's north central coast on Monday afternoon, Kajiki has since weakened to a tropical depression as it moved across to Laos on Tuesday morning, the national weather agency said.

The agency warned that rains will continue in several parts of northern Vietnam, with some areas likely to get up to 150 millimetres (6 inches) of rain in six hours, potentially causing flash floods and landslides.

Before making landfall in Vietnam, Kajiki skirted the southern coast of China's Hainan Island on Sunday, forcing Sanya City on the island to close businesses and public transport.