Vietnam races to prepare for Typhoon Wipha as Philippines suffers storm deaths

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnam braced for Typhoon Wipha on Monday as coastal provinces were placed on emergency alert and airlines canceled flights ahead of the storm’s expected landfall early Tuesday.

The typhoon is forecast to bring powerful winds and heavy rainfall, raising the risk of flash floods and landslides in northern Vietnam’s mountainous areas and flooding in urban centers, including Hanoi.

“This is a very strong storm, moving fast, with a wide and dangerous impact on both land and sea,” Vietnam Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said in a directive to government agencies. He ordered all fishing boats, cargo ships and tourist vessels to return to shore and urged the evacuation of people in high-risk areas.

The storm has already proved deadly in the Philippines, where it intensified monsoon rains and killed at least three people over the weekend, including one who drowned and two others struck by falling trees. Philippine officials were checking reports of three more deaths, while seven people, including two children, remained missing. Floods, landslides and debris affected over 800,000 people, with about 90,000 forced to evacuate, authorities said.

Hundreds of cruise ships have anchored in Vietnam's Ha Long Bay after authorities suspended all tourist boat services due to the storm. A tourist boat capsized there during a thunderstorm over the weekend, ahead of the typhoon’s arrival, killing at least 37 people. Ongoing bad weather is expected to complicate the search for the missing.

National carrier Vietnam Airlines and its affiliate Pacific Airlines canceled at least nine domestic flights on Monday, with more delays expected. Budget airline Vietjet canceled 12 flights including international routes to South Korea.

Local authorities have deployed rescue crews and stocked food and medical supplies while working to secure telecommunications infrastructure. State media reported nearly 150,000 hectares (370,658 acres) of aquaculture farms and more than 20,000 floating fish cages could be at risk from flooding and high winds.

Emergency warnings have been sent to millions of residents by text message. Forecasters expect Wipha to make landfall between Hai Phong and Thanh Hoa provinces early Tuesday, with wind gusts reaching up to 166 kilometers (103 miles) per hour.

Vietnam is no stranger to tropical storms. But climate experts said such storms were getting stronger due to global warming since warmer ocean waters provide more energy to fuel the storms. This results in increased wind speeds and heavier rainfall.

Last year, Typhoon Yagi killed about 300 people and caused $3.3 billion in damage, reducing GDP growth by 0.15%.

Jim Gomez in Manila, Philippines, contributed to this report.

Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receive support from several private foundations. See more about AP’s climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Tourist boat Wonder Sea is towed to a shipyard for investigation after its capsizing, which killed multiple people, in a thunderstorm in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam Sunday, July 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Huy Han)

Fishing boats take shelter ahead of Typhoon Wipha in Ninh Binh, Vietnam Monday, July 21, 2025. (Thanh Hai/VNExpress via AP)

People reinforce doors ahead of Typhoon Wipha in Hai Phong, Vietnam on Monday, July 21, 2025. (Le Tan/VNExpress via AP)

People move a boat from the beach ahead of Typhoon Wipha in Thanh Hoa, Vietnam Monday, July 21, 2025. (Le Hoang/VNExpress via AP)

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump on Sunday fired off another warning to the government of Cuba as the close ally of Venezuela braces for potential widespread unrest after Nicolás Maduro was deposed as Venezuela's leader.

Cuba, a major beneficiary of Venezuelan oil, has now been cut off from those shipments as U.S. forces continue to seize tankers in an effort to control the production, refining and global distribution of the country's oil products.

Trump said on social media that Cuba long lived off Venezuelan oil and money and had offered security in return, “BUT NOT ANYMORE!”

“THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA - ZERO!” Trump said in the post as he spent the weekend at his home in southern Florida. “I strongly suggest they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.” He did not explain what kind of deal.

The Cuban government said 32 of its military personnel were killed during the American operation last weekend that captured Maduro. The personnel from Cuba’s two main security agencies were in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, as part of an agreement between Cuba and Venezuela.

“Venezuela doesn’t need protection anymore from the thugs and extortionists who held them hostage for so many years,” Trump said Sunday. “Venezuela now has the United States of America, the most powerful military in the World (by far!), to protect them, and protect them we will.”

Trump also responded to another account’s social media post predicting that his secretary of state, Marco Rubio, will be president of Cuba: “Sounds good to me!” Trump said.

Trump and top administration officials have taken an increasingly aggressive tone toward Cuba, which had been kept economically afloat by Venezuela. Long before Maduro's capture, severe blackouts were sidelining life in Cuba, where people endured long lines at gas stations and supermarkets amid the island’s worst economic crisis in decades.

Trump has said previously that the Cuban economy, battered by years of a U.S. embargo, would slide further with the ouster of Maduro.

“It’s going down,” Trump said of Cuba. “It’s going down for the count.”

A person watches the oil tanker Ocean Mariner, Monrovia, arrive to the bay in Havana, Cuba, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

President Donald Trump attends a meeting with oil executives in the East Room of the White House, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)