4 airports shut, thousands evacuated in Vietnam as typhoon Bualoi hits with up to 130 km/h winds

Vietnam has mobilised nearly 100,000 military personnel and evacuated about 250,000 people as Typhoon Bualoi approaches the country's central coast, local media reported.

The storm, with winds of up to 130 km/h, is the 10th typhoon to hit Vietnam this year and was expected to make landfall later on Sunday, according to the country's meteorology agency.

The powerful tropical cyclone has already killed 27 people in eastern Philippines, and the missing count in Eastern Visayas topped 16 missing, as per emergency workers.

In the Philippines, Bualoi made landfall with intense wind speeds and heavy rainfall, triggering flooding, landslides, and infrastructure collapse. 

Relief operations

Local authorities are conducting relief operations aiming to reach isolated communities cut off by floodwaters and landslides. 

Power outages and communication disruptions have further complicated response efforts, challenging coordination among government agencies and humanitarian groups.

The storm’s destructive path has underscored the vulnerability of the archipelagic nation to extreme weather events, while prompting urgent emergency measures both within the Philippines and in neighbouring countries now threatened by its advancing trajectory.

Bualoi, a rapidly-moving storm, is capable of triggering multiple natural disasters simultaneously, including powerful winds, heavy rainfall, flooding, flash floods, landslides, and coastal inundation.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has called for the "highest level of readiness" as the storm entered Vietnamese waters, Al Jazeera reported, citing Viet Nam News.

In preparation for landfall, at least four airports were shut down, while fishing boats were ordered back to harbour, local media reported. Vietnamese aAuthorities also directed residents in coastal areas to secure their vessels.

Three fishermen from Ho Chi Minh City were missing after one vessel sank and another was disabled by large waves off Quang Tri province. Eight others were rescued. The stranded boats were spotted about 1.5km from the mouth of the Cua Viet Channel.

In Da Nang, the country's largest city, more than 210,000 residents are being moved to safer ground, state media said. About 32,000 people in Hue, near coastal areas, are also being evacuated.

Local authorities in Da Nang mobilised more than 200 workers with trucks, stone, sand, bamboo stakes, and sacks to reinforce the coastline ahead of the storm.

Scientists have repeatedly warned that storms in the region are intensifying as the planet warms due to climate change.

In Vietnam, more than 100 people were killed or went missing in the first seven months of 2025 due to natural disasters, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.