Typhoon Nari kills 5, causes major damage in Vietnam

HANOI, Vietnam – Typhoon Nari (Philippine codename Santi) slammed into central Vietnam early Tuesday, October 15, killing five people, ripping roofs of homes and damaging roads, state media reported.

The storm, which claimed 15 lives in the Philippines over the weekend, tore through the communist country’s central region – from the tourist town of Hue to Quang Ngai to the south, Vietnam Television reported.

Trees were uprooted and thousands of houses had their roofs ripped off while many roads became impassable due to torrential rain, footage showed.

Schools were closed Tuesday in Danang city, which bore the brunt of the typhoon when it hit packing winds of up to 133 kilometers (82 miles) an hour, state media said.

Before Nari hit, Vietnam evacuated more than 120,000 people to makeshift shelters in public buildings away from vulnerable coastal areas, according to the country’s disaster authorities.

Vietnamese weather forecasters said the typhoon had crossed the border to Laos by midday Tuesday.

Nari is the 11th tropical storm to hit Vietnam so far this year.

Last month Typhoon Wutip left a trail of destruction in the communist state, damaging nearly 200,000 houses and killing several people.

Forty people have been killed in flooding in Vietnam since early September, according to official figures. – Rappler.com