VINH, Vietnam: Tens of thousands of residents were being evacuated from coastal Vietnam on Monday, as Typhoon Kajiki barrelled toward landfall expected to lash the country’s central belt with gales of around 160 kmh. The typhoon – the fifth to affect Vietnam this year – is currently at sea, roiling the Gulf of Tonkin with waves of up to 9.5 meters (31 feet). More than 325,500 residents in five coastal provinces have been slated for evacuation to schools and public buildings converted into temporary shelters, authorities said.

Vietnam plans to evacuate more than half a million people while the Chinese city of Sanya closed businesses as the countries braced for Typhoon Kajiki.

Typhoon Kajiki is brushing past Hainan in China before heading for Vietnam, forecasters say.