Vietnam evacuated thousands of people from its central and northern provinces Sunday as Typhoon Bualoi raced toward the country faster than expected and made landfall in the early hours of Monday. The storm came ashore in northern coastal province Ha Tinh and forecasters said it would move inland before weakening as it pushed northwest toward the hilly regions of Ha Tinh and neighbouring Nghe An.

Bualoi has left at least 20 people dead in the central Philippines since Friday, mostly from drownings and falling trees, and knocked out power in several towns and cities, officials said. It forced about 23,000 families to evacuate to more than 1,400 emergency shelters. In Vietnam, the typhoon was expected to bring winds of up to 133 kph (83 mph), storm surges of more than a meter (3.2 feet) and heavy rains that could trigger flash floods and landslides.