Northern Vietnam reels from typhoon, 57 dead
(AFP)
Updated: 2005-09-29 17:18

Northern Vietnam was reeling from the aftermath of Typhoon Damrey which triggered landslides and flooding that left at least 57 people dead and caused widespread destruction.

Government officials said most of the dead were in the mountainous province of Yen Bai where the typhoon caused flash floods, and that a major rescue operation was now under way.

"We have recovered the bodies of 24 victims and a massive search for more victims is proceeding," provincial flood control official Nguyen Dinh Vo told AFP from Yen Bai City, northwest of Hanoi.

Many bodies were still inaccessible, he said, adding that in all 51 people had died in the province.

At least six other deaths have been recorded in northern provinces from the typhoon which struck Vietnam Tuesday before blowing itself out over Laos and Thailand on Wednesday.

The typhoon, packing winds of 200 kilometres (125 miles) per hour, left at least 89 people dead during its week-long sweep through East Asia -- 50 in Vietnam, 16 in the Philippines, 16 in China and seven in Thailand.

Vietnamese officials said the violent storm destroyed over 10,000 houses and smashed through 54 kilometres of dykes. Some 200 schools and 45 medical clinics also suffered damage.

A farmer carries a dog from his flooded house in Hai Hoa commune, in the northern province of Nam Dinh following the passage of Typhoon Damrey which left at least 57 people dead and caused widespread destruction. [AFP/File]

The typhoon, which Vietnamese officials described as the most powerful in a decade, also knocked out electricity and communications in several provinces, and flooded more than 60,000 hectares (about 150,000 acres) of crops.

"The coastal regions had prepared well for the typhoon and had managed to limit the number of victims, but the northwestern mountainous provinces were caught out as the flooding happened too rapidly and they lacked weather information," said Nguyen Lan Chau of Vietnam's national meteorology centre.

To Van Toan, an official from the national committee for disaster control said: "We always try to forecast but it is in fact very difficult. The point is it came at night time, therefore, the consequences were huge."

Prime Minister Phan Van Khai was shown on television late Wednesday telling a cabinet meeting that the greatest priority was to reinforce the network of dykes that had been breached.

"At the same time we have to encourage the social organisations and local authorities to help people restore their livelihood," Khai said.

Some 300,000 people had been evacuated from the coast of northern Vietnam as Typhoon Damrey approached.

Thailand's interior ministry said Thursday the typhoon left at least seven people dead and four others missing in the north of the country, where it also left bridges and roads impassable.

In China the civil affairs ministry said earlier this week the storm had caused nearly 8.5 billion yuan (1.05 billion dollars) in damage in Hainan, Guangdong and Guangxi provinces.

Hainan Vice Governor Wu Changyuan said 20,000 homes had been flattened on the island province, while 380 kilometers of roads had been damaged and 704,000 hectares (1.74 million acres) of cropland ruined.

Asia is prone to tropical storms and typhoons, two of which caused widespread destruction in China and killed scores of people earlier this month.

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