Tens of thousands of residents were being evacuated from coastal Vietnam on Monday, as Typhoon Kajiki barrelled towards 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 metres (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.

The waterfront city of Vinh was deluged overnight, its streets largely deserted by morning with most shops and restaurants closed as residents and business-owners sandbagged their property entrances.

By dawn nearly 30,000 people had been evacuated from the region, two domestic

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