Vietnam evacuates over a million from typhoon path

Vietnam is evacuating nearly 1.5 million people from the path of typhoon Molave, which is barreling towards them days after it devastated parts of the Philippines.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has expressed fears that Molave, could be as deadly as typhoon Damrey, which hammered the country’s central region in 2017 leaving more than a hundred dead.

Molave was the 17th typhoon to batter the Philippines this year. It brought heavy rains that caused flash floods and landslides that forced 150,000 people out of their homes. Thirteen people are still reported missing.

Packing winds of over 135kph, Molave is expected to make landfall in central Vietnam on Wednesday morning, according to Vietnamese state media.

Typhoon Molave will be the fourth significant storm to hit Vietnam within a month and comes as the country is still reeling from stronger than usual seasonal flooding and landslides that have killed over 100 people and made nearly 100,000 homeless in the central  provinces of Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Hue.

Torrential rains are expected in the still-flooded and isolated region, Vietnam News is reporting.