ANKARA 

Typhoon Bualoi made landfall in northern central Vietnam early Monday, bringing rains and flooding, damaging houses, and killing at least 12 people, local media reported.

Nine casualties were reported in northern Ninh Binh province, while the remaining three were in Thanh Hoa, Hue and Da Nang cities, local media outlet VnExpress reported.

Some 17 fishermen went missing after three fishing boats lost contact.

Although the storm has reached land, the risk of heavy rain, floods, and landslides is still very high in the coming days, said the National Hydrometeorological Agency.

At least one person is confirmed dead after being caught in floodwater in Hue city, while 12 fishermen are missing after huge waves sank four fishing boats off Quang Tri province.

The typhoon was over Nghe An province as of 8 am local time (0100GMT) with maximum wind speeds weakening to 88 kilometers (54 miles) per hour from 117 kilometers (72 miles) per hour when it made landfall.

The weather agency warned that there is a risk of widespread flooding from Thanh Hoa to Ha Tinh and a high risk of flash floods and landslides in the western communes of Thanh Hoa, Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces.

There is a possibility of localized flooding in the southern part of the Northern Delta due to the impact of heavy rain from the storm.

Authorities evacuated nearly 30,000 people ahead of the cyclone, while hundreds of flights were cancelled or delayed as four airports in central provinces were shut.

The development of Bualoi, also known as "storm No.10,” shows that this is the fastest-moving storm ever in the East Sea.

It took around two days, from Sept. 26 to Sept. 28, for the storm to travel more than 1,000 kilometers (621 miles), directly impacting the mainland of the country's northern and central regions.

In the next three hours, the storm will continue to move in the west-northwest direction at a speed of about 20 kilometers (12 miles) per hour.

By Monday evening, the storm is likely to move west-northwest at a speed of around 20-25 kilometers (12-15 miles) per hour, moving inland, then gradually weakening into a tropical depression, then a low-pressure area.

*Writing by Aamir Latif