3 dead after Typhoon Wutip batters Vietnam

HANOI, Vietnam (UPDATED) – Typhoon Wutip (Philippine codename Paolo) left a trail of destruction in its wake with at least three people reported dead in Vietnam Tuesday, October 1, roofs ripped off thousands of homes and dozens of fishermen missing.

Roads were flooded, sea dykes damaged and power lines torn up along the central coastline, including in top tourist attractions such as the World Heritage Site of Hoi An and the ancient capital of Hue.

In Hoi An, an old trading port known for its traditional wooden architecture, streets around the river were under water although the main tourist districts were not affected, city officials said.

Flooding was also reported in Hue and authorities warned there could be more rain coming.

High winds ripped the roofs off around 95,000 houses and tens of thousands of hectares of crops were destroyed after Typhoon Wutip – packing winds of up to 103 kilometers (64 miles) an hour – hit the communist country late Monday, authorities said.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung put local authorities on high alert for flash floods and landslides in the aftermath of the typhoon as officials battled to clear up the worst of the damage.

China deployed navy warships and aircraft on Monday to search for survivors after three of its fishing boats sank in rough waters whipped up by Wutip, leaving more than 70 people missing.

By early Tuesday the typhoon had weakened to a tropical depression and moved over neighboring Laos, Vietnamese meteorologists said.

Two people were killed in Vietnam’s central Quang Binh province after strong winds toppled a radio station antenna as the storm hit on Monday, the country’s flood and storm control department said.

A 40-year-old man was killed after being buried under a collapsed wall, the department added.

State media earlier reported that a 14-year-old boy died in Quang Binh province after falling from a roof, but there was no official confirmation.

Up to 300 millimeters (12 inches) of rain fell on Vietnam from Friday to Monday, the flood department said.

“Some provincial and district roads are still impassable,” said Nguyen Huu Hoai, chairman of the Quang Binh provincial committee.

Parts of the affected area were still without power after high winds tore up electricity pylons and disrupted supply, state media reported.

The army has been mobilized to help deal with the devastation, said Colonel Nguyen Van Phuc, head of Quang Binh provincial border military department.

No official estimate of the potential cost of storm damage was available Tuesday.

More than 106,000 people had been evacuated from high-risk coastal areas ahead of the storm, officials said.

Vietnam is hit by an average of eight to 10 tropical storms every year, which often cause heavy material and human losses.

In recent weeks floods have killed at least 24 people in Vietnam and claimed at least 30 lives in Cambodia as well as 23 in Thailand, which was bracing for heavy downpours Tuesday as Wutip moved inland. – Rappler.com