Densely populated Vietnam is vulnerable to typhoons roaring in across the South China Sea. The U.S. military’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) said the storm had gathered strength as it approached Vietnam, upgrading it to a Category 4. Forecasters said Vietnam's low-lying commercial hub of Ho Chi Minh City could be hit by flooding.

Vietnam was rushing to ensure more than half a million people were out of harm's way on Tuesday, ahead of the arrival of a powerful typhoon set to dump more heavy rain on a central region devastated by weeks of intense weather.

Vietnam is rethinking how it copes with floods after a year of relentless storms has collapsed hillsides and turned streets into rivers

Floods set off by record levels of rainfall have inundated a large swath of central Vietnam over the past days, with the UNESCO-listed former imperial capital Hue and Hoi An the worst hit.

When toy giant LEGO decided to open a new $1-billion factory, it picked Vietnam so as to be close to its major markets in Asia. The facility, whose construction was launched last month, will also be the company's first carbon-neutral factory.

Vietnam’s trade surplus narrowed for a second straight month while exports and imports both missed estimates in October, hinting at headwinds from tariffs on the manufacturing powerhouse.