Factories in Vietnam’s Export Hub May Face Weeks of Disruption After Typhoon Yagi

Typhoon Yagi severely damaged a large number of factories and flooded warehouses in northern Vietnam’s export-oriented industrial hubs, forcing plants to shut, with some expected to take weeks to resume full operations, executives said.

The typhoon, the strongest in Asia this year, made landfall in Vietnam’s northern coast on Saturday and was still causing deadly floods and landslides on Wednesday killing dozens and ravaging key infrastructure, including power networks and roads. [Editor’s note: More than 150 people have died from the typhoon, according to press reports on Sept. 11].

The disruptions could affect global supply chains as Vietnam hosts large operations of multinationals that mostly export their products to the United States, Europe and other developed countries.

In the coastal city of Haiphong, one of the areas worst hit by the typhoon, 95% of businesses were expected to resume some activities on Tuesday, the body managing Haiphong industrial zones said on its website.

“Many businesses had their roofs blown off, some walls were torn and collapsed, gates, fences, signs, camera systems, garages and sliding metal doors were overturned, water flooded into factories,” a report on its website said.

In the DEEP C industrial zones, which host factories in Haiphong and the neighboring province of Quang Ninh, 20 out of 150 investors’ plants will be out of service for at least a few weeks, said Bruno Jaspaert, head of DEEP C industrial zones.

Based on a review of his clients, he expected power consumption at those facilities would remain one-third below normal for weeks or months because many companies were busy rebuilding their damaged factories.

Among the hardest hit at that industrial park was Jupiter Logistics, which is part of a group co-owned by Japan Airlines Co Ltd 9201.T, according to one official familiar with the survey of the damage.

Jupiter Logistics was not immediately available to comment.

Goods ready for export or delivery to clients were flooded in warehouses in the area, companies said.

In another industrial park in Haiphong, South Korea’s LG Electronics said it had partly resumed work on Tuesday, although the factory’s walls were crushed on Saturday and a warehouse with refrigerators and washing machines had been flooded.

“Many of them are gone with the wind,” said Calvin Nguyen, head of Vietnamese logistics firm WeDo Forwarding Co., referring to products that were to be delivered to the United States and the European Union, without specifying which goods.

The company’s three warehouses in Haiphong had their roofs blown off and were still flooded on Wednesday, he said.

The industry ministry did not reply to a request for comment.

Power Cuts

Power outages were still affecting several areas in the north, as Vietnam’s state-owned power distributor EVN worked to restore dozens of damaged electricity lines.

In Quang Ninh, along the coast north of Haiphong, many factories still had no electricity or water service, Jaspaert said.

Chinese solar panel maker Jinko Solar’s factory in Quang Ninh was severely damaged, one of its workers said, noting on Tuesday work had not resumed as windows had been smashed and the roof had been blown away.

Jinko was not immediately available for a comment.

Far from the coast, the industrial hubs of Thai Nguyen and Bac Giang which host large factories of multinationals such as Samsung Electronics and Apple supplier Foxconn were also facing severe flooding.

Samsung’s large facilities in Thai Nguyen had not been visibly affected on Tuesday evening, according to a Reuters witness.

Water was receding on Wednesday in the province, about 60 km (37 miles) north of Hanoi, but more rain was expected.

(Reporting by Francesco Guarascio, Phuong Nguyen and Khanh Vu in Hanoi; Minh Nguyen and Thinh Nguyen in Thai Nguyen; additional reporting by Heekyong Yang in Seoul; editing by Sonali Paul)

Photograph: Flood triggered by Typhoon Yagi submerges houses in Bac Giang province, Vietnam on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (Le Danh Lam/VNA via AP)