Strong winds and six-meter-high waves struck Quang Ngai’s Ly Son District on Wednesday morning, blowing roofs off several houses. It is the province’s first island district to be affected upon Molave’s landfall.

A house in Ly Son had its walls demolished by strong winds.

Parts of a ceiling of a house on Ly Son got torn apart.

Thuy Tien, a resident in Quang Ngai’s Binh Son District, stands dejected inside her house, which got wrecked by the storm.

“I saw the storm grow slightly less severe, so I returned home from the evacuation area to see what my house looks like. To see this scene is just painful,” she said.

Rain and wind died down a bit in Binh Son at around noon, only to pick up about half an hour later. Several houses in the area had their roofs blown away, damaging people’s belongings inside.

Tien’s belongings are soaked in rainwater after her house’s roof got blown off.

A store in Quang Ngai’s Binh Hai District also had its roof blown to pieces.

Multiple trees in Binh Hai are uprooted. The most severe site of destruction is at Dung Quat College of Technology, where dozens of royal poinciana trees had their branches broken off in the process of uprooting.

In Quang Ngai’s capital city, heavy rains drench downtown areas at noon. Strong gusts mean people cannot use motorbikes to commute. Roofs in the area were also blown away.

Several roofs litter Le Loi Street in the capital town, also named Quang Ngai.

A man ventures outside to collect his family’s blown away food stall after the rain has died down.

A house has its roof blown off.

By 10 a.m. Wednesday, one house had collapsed while around 477 others had their roofs damaged in Quang Ngai, said the provincial Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention, Seach and Rescue. The most severe damage was recorded in Duc Pho District, where about 300 houses got damaged. The number of casualties has not been confirmed.

“Quang Ngai is currently the center of the storm. I ask that people stay calm and proactive to respond to the storm. Authorities would always be by the people’s side,” said provincial chairman Dang Van Minh, adding people should be provided with enough food and water.

Tinh Khe Primary School in Quang Ngai is left a wreck after Molave’s winds blew off its roof.