Workers rushed to restore power lines in the aftermath of the worst storm in the north for decades, Photo Duc Thanh

Last week, supply chain consulting firm CEL published its first comprehensive report detailing the profound impacts of Yagi on Northern Vietnam’s supply chains.

The report, conducted between September 10 and 15, involved over 200 manufacturing, retail and distribution, and supply chain and logistics companies, highlighting significant disruptions, economic losses, and recovery efforts. The report pointed out that an estimated $1.64 billion in damage had been incurred, with a projected 0.15 per cent reduction in Vietnam’s GDP for 2024.

Among the companies experiencing severe disruptions, 73 per cent belong to the supply chain and logistics sector. Within this group, 72 per cent are port operators, and third-party logistics (3PL) providers, alongside last-mile delivery, and cold chain service companies.

Of the severely affected companies, 85.8 per cent operate facilities in northern Vietnam, particularly in Hanoi and Haiphong, which Typhoon Yagi directly impacted. While the 3PL providers operate nationwide, the concentrated impact in the north has amplified disruptions in these key logistics hubs.

“Once more, nature has made its point loud and clear. The era of predictable weather is over, and events like Typhoon Yagi are no longer exceptions,” said CEL managing partner Julien Brun.

“We must adapt to this new normal. The concept of ‘just-in-case’ must now be at the core of how we lead, decide, design, and operate our supply chains. This disaster is a wake-up call, we need to design differently, prepare better, and recover faster. The message is clear – resilience is not optional any more,” Brun continued.

At a workshop on urgent solutions to overcome the consequences and support individuals and businesses chaired by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on September 15, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung said that Yagi and its aftermath had a huge area of influence, spanning 26 northern provinces and cities and Thanh Hoa, accounting for over 41 per cent of the country’s GDP and 40 per cent of its population.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment estimates that these losses have caused the growth rate of the country and many localities to slow in the last six months of the year.

The country’s GDP growth in the third quarter may decrease by 0.35 per cent, and in the fourth quarter by 0.22 per cent lower than previous estimates.

According to Vietnam Electricity (EVN), due to the impact of strong storm winds and post-storm circulation, power lines and transformer stations in many provinces and cities in the north suffered failures.

Post-storm circulation caused heavy rain and flooding in 17 northern provinces, causing widespread power outages. An estimated 5.98 million EVN customers were affected.

As of last week, the 500kV high-voltage grid had restored all 14 lines that suffered incidents due to the impact of the typhoon, mainly concentrated in the areas of Quang Ninh province and Haiphong city where intense wind gusts significantly impacted the electrical grid system, leading to the collapse or severe damage to numerous power lines and transformer stations.

By September 17, nearly all the 1,700 medium-voltage lines affected by storms had been restored successfully.

Vu Anh Phuong, deputy general director of EVN’s Northern Power Corporation, said with the large workload of the electricity industry, it had made efforts to overcome storms and floods, minimising damage caused by natural disasters to the power transmission grid system.

“EVN determines not to be subjective or negligent in any situation, to ensure electricity supply for production, business and people’s consumption. Currently, the electricity sector has basically overcome the problem, restoring power supply, adequate power source, and backups, and hydroelectric projects are guaranteed to be safe,” he said.