November 2000




Vietnamese Government (Communist Party) doesn't allow any help from citizens or private organizations at this time. There are cases of arrested, labeled, stopped distribution by the police. Please make a judgement of your contribution through U.S. RedCross (Phase I) or any non-profit organizations that will assist our people after the flood (Phase III).

Updated: Reports that the local government are relaxing the rule because of U.S. President Clinton visiting Vietnam. You need to get permission from local government. If you have connection with local Vietnamese government or Vietnam Redcross then you can distribute goods. Foods distributed inside church/temple without interference from police

http://www.geocities.com/cdhmv/news/flood2000.html

Typhoon Lingling slams into Vietnam's central coast
13 November 2001
By Omar Valdimarsson in Da Nang



At least 20 people died and 12,000 homes were flooded as Typhoon Lingling came ashore on Vietnam's central coastline early Monday morning.

The winds and rains sank over 230 small fishing boats and damaged nearly 500 hectares of crops, over 3000 hectares of orchards and some 70% of local paddies. The total damage caused by the storm is estimated at some US$12 million, according to early reports from the National Committee for Storm and Flood Control.

None of the 10,000 homes built by the International Federation and the Vietnam Red Cross in the Central Provinces following serious flooding in 1998 and 1999, were affected in any way.

The Vietnam Red Cross has released 100 million dong ($7,000) from its Emergency Response Fund for relief and rehabilitation work in the three worst-affected pronvinces. "We want to show our support and willingness for action," says Nguyen Hai Duong, vice-president of the VNRC.

"Later we may organise fundraising for further support to the affected communities. We are allocating 40 million for Phu Yen province, 30 million for Bihn Dihn, 20 for Quang Ngai and 10 million dong for Dac Lac,"he said.

The storm which also hit the Philippines late last week, weakened when it came ashore but it continued to rain heavily in the central provinces yesterday. In all, seven provinces were affected – three seriously, where over three hundred homes collapsed. Hundreds more partially collapsed and up to 12,000 homes were flooded.

"Fortunately this was a relatively small disaster, compared to what we have had in previous years," says Ian Wilderspin, the International Federation's disaster manager in Vietnam. "The threat was large over the weekend, but as the the storm hit the coast, it lost much of its force."

Bo Backstrom, the Federation's Head of Delegation in Vietnam, adds that "in the aftermath of the storm the local Red Cross and VNRC HQ are closely monitoring the situation to determine whether further response is required. The fear is that Vietnam could be faced with a succession of such storms, causing further flooding, damage and loss of lives. That was the case in 1999, when over 300 lives were lost."

Vietnam Red Cross volunteers in the worst affected provinces, Phu Yen, Binh Dinh and Quang Ngai, are currently assessing the damage and the need for Red Cross assistance. They are distributing blankets, food and shelter material to the worst affected in isolated communities.

Meanwhile, the Philippines Red Cross (PNRC) is visiting this week the areas hardest hit by Lingling at the weekend. Latest reports from PNRC are that 152 people were killed, 136 missing and 106 people injured, mostly in theisland province of Camiguin. A total of 13 provinces suffered damage with some one million people affected and 3,259 houses damaged.

The Red Cross is shipping relief supplies from Manila to augment local support. USAIDS has offered £100,000 towards PNRC relief operations and supported five relief flights. As of yesterday, the PNRC had provided relief to 10,000 people.


http://www.ifrc.org/docs/news/01/111303/

Floods cause damage in the millions
22/August/2002 Vietnam News Page 2

Flood-stricken Ha Giang is facing up to 50 billion dong (US$3.3 million) in damages, nearly one-third its annual income, after floods ravaged the province this week. Nine people are still missing in the floods, which have to date killed 26 people and left hundreds short of food

http://www.accessvietnam.net/Archive/020822.html#_Toc17785437

Vietnam Braces for More Floods (November 18, 2003)

This week, Vietnam was busy cleaning up the mess caused by severe floods that killed fifty-eight people last week. But it braced for even more flooding as Tropical Storm Nepartak took aim at its coast. The nation kept its boats in harbors as the raging storm approached the coast. But Nepartak then veered northward and unleashed most of its fury on southern China.

Last week's floods and landslides left thousands of people homeless across nine provinces in the central part of the nation. The floods destroyed rice fields and shrimp farms in the region. This week, relief crews were busy bringing food and emergency supplies to thousands of flood victims even as the nation prepared for the possibility of a new round of floods.

http://www.phschool.com/science/planetdiary/archive03/floo1112103.html

Tropical Storm Nepartak

http://www.phschool.com/science/planetdiary/archive03/trop1112103.html

Deadly flash floods hit Vietnam
Friday, July 23, 2004. 4:33pm (AEST)
At least 28 people have died in flash flooding in Vietnam's mountainous north and another 20 people are missing, feared dead.

Le Minh Duc, an official from Ha Giang province's worst-hit Yen Minh district, said police and soldiers were continuing to search for the missing people but the chances of finding them alive were slim.

He says most of those killed and missing from the torrential rains that began on Sunday, were from two villages home to the Hmong and Tay ethnic minorities.

The rains have triggered flash floods and landslides and because they are continuing, they have complicated rescue efforts in the province, which borders China.

"We are continuing the search and we have sent personnel to isolated areas to find the bodies of the missing 20 people," Le Minh Duc said.

http://www.abc.net.au/cgi-bin/common/printfriendly.pl?http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200407/s1160656.htm

Floods kill five in Vietnam, thousands evacuated
Sunday, September 11, 2005 12:14:36 Vietnam (GMT+07)



Seasonal floods have killed at least five people in southern Vietnam's Mekong Delta where 28,000 people have been evacuated to higher ground, local Tuoi Tre newspaper reported Saturday.
Four people, three of them children, drowned in Dong Thap province where nearly 1,500 houses were submerged and another 136 homes collapsed, Tuoi Tre said, quoting a report by the province's disaster management committee.

Floodwaters from Cambodia pouring into the fertile southern delta, which produces around half of Vietnam's grain, have forced 5,600 families – 28,000 people – to higher ground in Dong Thap, the report said.

"Waters have inundated all the fields and the low-lying areas in Hong Ngu district upstream but now it's still not the peak of the flooding season," said a resident in Cao Lanh, the capital of Dong Thap, 143 km southwest of Ho Chi Minh City.

An 18-year-old girl drowned when her boat capsized in the neighbouring province of An Giang and several provincial roads were under water, Tuoi Tre said.

Officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

Traders said the summer-autumn rice crop was safe as farmers had ended harvesting before the floods arrived. Vietnam is the world's second-largest rice exporter after Thailand.

The Mekong Delta floods often peak in October and fully recede in early November.

In 2000 the worst floods in decades killed 485 people in the delta, 334 of them children.

Since then the authorities have tried to minimize the annual toll, opening swimming classes for children and day-care centers to protect infants while their parents work in the fields.

http://story.vietnamtribune.com/p.x/ct/9/id/6c1a78419f2cc872/cid

New low pressure area moves towards Vietnam coast
Thursday, September 15, 2005 22:33:29 Vietnam (GMT+07)


A new tropical low pressure area has begun forming in the East Sea and heading towards Vietnam’s central region, the southern weather station said Thursday afternoon.
By evening, its eye was lying over the northern part of the Truong Sa (Paracel) Islands, less than 200km east of the mainland, and it brought with it winds of about 60km.

The front is expected to move northwest at five to ten kilometers an hour.

The weather station forecast Thursday afternoon torrential rains and strong winds in an area from Thua Thien Hue to Khanh Hoa provinces.

Most of the southern region would be hit by heavy rains Friday, it said, and called for residents in the areas to take precautions against floods.

Earlier this week, the central and northern regions were hit by a low pressure front which killed four people and caused severe damage to property in central provinces.

(Reported by M.Vong – Translated by Minh Phat)

http://story.vietnamtribune.com/p.x/ct/9/id/6c1a78419f2cc872/cid

Typhoon

Posted by: Astronomer68
On: Wed August, 31 2005 @ 11:49 GMT
Good pics Mayet--good title too. I remember being in Vietnam (actually out in the Gulf Of Tonkin at the time) when we went through five (5) Typhoons in one month. The things get scary. I was on an aircraft carrier during that month and on two different occassions we were taking green water over the flight deck--which by the way is 90 ft. above the water line. I don't wish these types of storms on anyone, anytime, but I fear we will see an increasing number of them as our planet heats up.

http://www.atsnn.com/story/166271.html

Sunday, September 11, 2005 12:33:15 Vietnam (GMT+07)

Korean coast guard starts mission to rescue Vietnamese ship



South Korean coast guard launched Sunday a mission to rescue a Vietnamese cargo ship which had run aground off the city of Pohang during a typhoon last week.
Pohang coast guard director Seo Peom Kiu said the 5,470-ton ship Long Xuyen would be hauled back to sea in a few days, weather permitting.

The ship’s crew of 22 was safe and had enough food and water, he said.

Korean officials dispatched the coast guard, marines and professional teams to rescue the ship soon after it had been swept aground last Monday by Typhoon Nabi, but rough seas prevented them from reaching it.

Nabi, which means "butterfly" in Korean, lashed southern Japan and Korea, killing five people, injuring dozens and forcing tens of thousands to evacuate their homes.

(Source: VNA – Translated by The Vinh)

Last Update: Saturday, September 10, 2005. 2:29pm (AEST)

Mekong Delta floods force 28,000 to evacuate

Seasonal floods have killed at least five people in southern Vietnam's Mekong Delta, where 28,000 people have been evacuated to higher ground.

The Tuoi Tre newspaper reports four people, three of them children, drowned in Dong Thap province where nearly 1,500 houses are submerged and another 136 homes have collapsed.

Floodwaters from Cambodia pouring into the fertile southern delta, which produces around half of Vietnam's grain, have forced 5,600 families to higher ground in Dong Thap.

"Waters have inundated all the fields and the low-lying areas in Hong Ngu district upstream but now it's still not the peak of the flooding season," said a resident in Cao Lanh.

An 18-year-old girl drowned when her boat capsized in the neighbouring province of An Giang.

Several provincial roads are under water.

Officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

Traders say the summer-autumn rice crop is safe as farmers had ended harvesting before the floods arrived.

Vietnam is the world's second-largest rice exporter after Thailand.

The Mekong Delta floods often peak in October and fully recede in early November.

In 2000 the worst floods in decades killed 485 people in the delta, 334 of them children.

Since then the authorities have tried to minimise the annual toll, opening swimming classes for children and day-care centres to protect infants while their parents work in the fields.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200509/s1457526.htm

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Monday, September 19, 2005 21:35:42 Vietnam (GMT+07)


Storm wreaks havoc in northern central Vietnam




The hurricane, domestically known as “Storm No. 6,” forced some 9,000 families to evacuate and destroyed tens of thousands of hectares of crops in Nghe An, Thanh Hoa and Quang Ninh provinces and Hai Phong city.

Strong winds of 62-88 km/h, heavy rain and high tides brought rough seas that seriously damaged dyke systems in the provinces.

Nghe An had the heaviest casualties with two people killed during the storm, and two others injured when their room collapsed.

Strong winds sank a 50-ton ship with three aboard in Quang Ninh. Two were rescued, and the body of the third was recovered Monday. Three others were reportedly injured.

Meanwhile, rescue teams in Hai Phong said they could not find a fishing boat with four on board who had sent SOS signals Sunday some 4.5 nautical miles away from Dau Island.

Affected by the storm, heavy rains struck northern and central coastal provinces over the past two days, particularly from Nghe An to Quang Tri provinces.

(Reported by Thanh Nien reporters – Translated by The Vinh)

http://story.vietnamtribune.com/p.x/ct/9/id/6c1a78419f2cc872/cid

Last Updated 13/09/2005, 15:04:22 Select text size:


At least nine people, seven of them children, have died in annual flooding which has struck Vietnam's Mekong Delta.

Disaster Management officials say more than 32,000 people have been evacuated from inundated villages and areas at risk from landslides in three Mekong Delta provinces.

State forecasters are not expecting the flood waters to peak until later this month, with torrential rains expected in Cambodia in the coming weeks.

The southern delta produces about half of Vietnam's grain, and is home to 17 million people whose lives depend on the annual floodwaters from Cambodia to bring fertile soil and wash pests and insects off the rice fields.

The floods normally recede fully in early November.

Friday, September 23, 2005 12:48:07 Vietnam (GMT+07)





Tropical storm Damrey, which swept past a Filipino island yesterday, will hit Vietnam in two days, the southern weather station forecast Thursday.
The storm, with winds in its eye blowing at speed 75km-88km/hour, may gather strength on hitting Vietnam’s central and northern coastline, Vietnam’s Southern Hydrometeorology Station warned Thursday.

Labeled Storm Number 7 in Vietnam, it crossed the northern part of the Philippines’ Luzon island yesterday, and is moving in a northwestern direction at about 15km an hour.

The Wikipedia Foundation in Florida, the US, said in its website Friday that tropical storm Damrey (or Labuyo) was located 140 nautical miles (255 km) southwest of Hengchun peninsula, Taiwan.

Moving west, it was expected to make landfall in Guangdong or Hainan island September 25 before making landfall again in Vietnam, the website reported.

(Reported by M.V – Translated by M.Phat)

http://www.thanhniennews.com/travel/?catid=7&newsid=9379

Sunday, September 25, 2005 11:52:23 Vietnam (GMT+07)

Storm No 7 gathers strength, threatens northern, central Vietnam



The Vietnamese deputy PM has called for strong protective measures after Storm No 7 gained strength and moved into Vietnam’s northern and central coastal areas, bringing gusty winds and high seas.
On Saturday afternoon, the storm, which was centered 830 km east of Hai Phong and Thanh Hoa coastal provinces, packed winds of 89-117 km/ hour, according to the Central Hydrometeorology Center.

The office said the system was moving westward at about 15 km/hour.

It brought gales and choppy seas in the East Sea’s northern parts and would bring increased northeastern winds and rough seas in the Tonkin Gulf Sunday too.

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung Friday instructed People’s Committees in cities and provinces, the Central Natural Disasters Preventive Board, and other agencies concerned to adopt urgent measures, particularly to evacuate residents in vulnerable places, to minimize potential casualties and damage.

Dung also directed authorities in northern and central provinces to mobilize all resources to provide relief in the aftermath of the recent Storm No. 6 and reinforce affected dykes.

Three people were killed, two injured, and four reported missing as tropical storm Vicente, christened Storm No. 6 here, slammed into Vietnam’s northern and central provinces September 18.

The hurricane forced some 9,000 families to evacuate and destroyed tens of thousands of hectares of crops in Nghe An, Thanh Hoa, and Quang Ninh provinces and Hai Phong city.

Reported by M.V., Dan Hung – Translated by Ngoc Hanh

http://www.thanhniennews.com/society/?catid=3&newsid=9407

http://www2.thanhnien.com.vn/Xahoi/2005/10/1/124172.tno

Monday, October 3, 2005 12:44:54 Vietnam (GMT+07)

Death toll in Vietnam from Typhoon Damrey reaches 68
The death toll from Typhoon Damrey and the flash floods it spawned in Vietnam’s northern mountains and coastal areas was confirmed at 68, the Vietnam News Agency reported.

The storm, which struck on Sept. 26 and 27, also left 22 people injured, and caused losses estimated at VND3.3 trillion (roughly $207 million), making it the second most devastating typhoon in Vietnam so far, VNA said.

Typhoon Linda that lashed southern Vietnam in November 1997, leaving around 480 dead, 3,000 missing, and losses amounted to $500 million remains the most devastating storm in the country to date.

Damrey – the Khmer word for elephant – swept away a total of 255,680 cubic meters of earth and rock on road surfaces, destroyed 301,134 hectares of rice and subsidiary crops and 21,944 shrimp and fish breeding ponds, the Central Committee for Storm and Flood Control estimated.

Northern mountainous Yen Bai province was hardest-hit typhoon Damrey. Flash floods and landslides sparked by the storm left 50 people dead or missing and 8 others injured, and destroyed nearly 160 houses.

Storm-hit localities have made proposals to the Committee to finance VND1.2 trillion to rebuild in the wake of the typhoon.

(Reported by Xuan Toan, VNA)

http://www.thanhniennews.com/society/?catid=3&newsid=9596

Monday, 26 September 2005, 07:47 GMT 08:47 UK

Vietnam braces for deadly typhoon




Vietnam is bracing itself for the onslaught of Typhoon Damrey, which has already wreaked havoc on China's island province of Hainan.
More than 100,000 people have left the Vietnamese coast in preparation.

Damrey caused two deaths in Hainan, as well as extensive damage to buildings, infrastructure and crops.

Chinese officials have described it as the worst typhoon to strike the province in decades, with winds comparable to Hurricane Rita.

Killer typhoon

Two people were killed in Wanning, the coastal city of Hainan where the typhoon made landfall on Sunday, according to China's official Xinhua news agency.

Many homes have been damaged, power lines have been cut, and experts have warned of huge losses to the harvest of rice, rubber and bananas.



About 5,000 people were reportedly left stranded at the airport in the provincial capital, Haikou, after dozens of flights were cancelled.

"The primary threat now is strong winds, but judging from our experience in recent years, river floods are also possible if the heavy rains continue," a disaster relief official told Reuters news agency.

He said more than 170,000 people in the area had been moved to safety.

Areas of nearby Guangdong province have also been evacuated, according to state television.

One fisherman was reported missing there, after three boats capsized in choppy seas, the China Daily said.

According to Xinhua, the typhoon packed winds up to 198 km/h (125mph), making it comparable with the 193km/h (120mph) gusts recorded when Hurricane Rita hit the Texas-Louisiana coastline over the weekend.

Experts say that Damrey will still be generating heavy winds when it makes landfall in Vietnam early on Tuesday morning.

Tens of thousands of Vietnamese are currently preparing to leave coastal districts in Thanh Hoa and Nghe An provinces, while others have been mobilised to reinforce sea dykes.

While still a tropical storm last week, Damrey triggered rains in the Philippines that killed at least 18 people.

Typhoons frequently hit Taiwan, the Philippines, Hong Kong and southern China throughout the summer and autumn.

This is the 18th typhoon to hit China this year.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4281674.stm

Powerful typhoon hits southern China, heads towards Vietnam




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A typhoon has pounded China's southern island of Hainan, knocking out power and reportedly leaving at least two dead.

With winds of up to 200 kilometres an hour, Typhoon Damrey is the strongest storm to hit the tropical resort island in more than 30 years.

A disaster relief official says Damrey has flattened houses and damaged crops on the island, but the full extent of the destruction is unknown.

Nearly 70 flights have been cancelled at Hainan's Milan International Airport, leaving some 5,000 passengers stranded.

Experts warn that rice, rubber and banana crops could suffer major damage.

Authorities had earlier ordered the evacuation of 173,000 from low-lying areas along China's southern coast.

Damrey is the eighteenth typhoon to hit China this year

Mass evacuations in Vietnam

The Xinhua news agency says the west-moving typhoon is expected to sweep right across Hainan island before heading towards Vietnam.

Vietnamese officials say they are evacuating 100,000 people from their homes, with state forecasters predicting heavy rains in more than 10 northern and central provinces.

In the northern province of Nam Dinh alone, nearly 80,000 people in three communes are being evacuated.

Military and police forces have been mobilised to help with preventive measures

http://feeds.laosnews.net/?rid=51e3f6fa5186edf9&cat=a6670896145a3ae3&f=1

.....

The storm, whose name means "elephant" in Cambodian, scoured the island's southern portion before heading out to sea to toward Vietnam to the west. More than 200,000 people were being evacuated along the coast ahead of its expected arrival Tuesday, Xinhua said, citing Vietnamese officials.

Nine people in five cities were confirmed dead, Xinhua reported, citing the provincial anti-disaster command center.

Six of the dead were older than 60, including a woman whose house collapsed upon her in Wanning. Another woman was killed by a falling wall while closing up her house, Xinhua said.

Hotels in the Yalong Bay resort district were largely empty, with lingering tourists barricading themselves in their rooms, according to receptionists at the lodgings. The Sheraton and Marriott resorts were operating with minimal staff, with many employees unable to get to work, the receptionists said.

"There aren't many people coming in," said a receptionist at the Sheraton, who refused to give her name because she was not authorized to comment. She said she had no information on damage to the hotel.

palmbeachpost.com/news/content/shared-gen/ap/Asia/China_Typhoon.html

Typhoon-hit Vietnam evacuates over 200,000 people

www.chinaview.cn 2005-09-26 16:54:54

HANOI, Sept. 26 (Xinhuanet) -- Vietnam was evacuating more than 200,000 people in its coastal localities where typhoon Damrey was forecast to sweep over, a local official told Xinhua on Monday.

Over 121,000 people in northern Nam Dinh province, 76,000 others in northern Thanh Hoa province, and 9,000 in central Nghe An province, mostly children, women and the elderly, were being evacuated to solid schools, offices, and private houses, said Do Ngoc Thien, vice head of the Central Steering Committee on Flood and Storm Prevention.

Meanwhile, several thousands of others were mobilized to consolidate important dike segments along the coast and rivers, hesaid.

The typhoon, whose wind speed reached 118-133 kilometers per hour, has been the strongest in Vietnam so far this year, the National Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting Center reported.

The center said that Damrey, which should strike coastal areas from northern Quang Ninh province to central Thua Thien Hue province on Monday, will cause torrential rains in Vietnam's northern and central localities on Monday afternoon and Tuesday.

Last year, natural disasters killed 232 people and left 38 missing, injured 187 others, destroyed 4,200 houses and 3,000 hectares of rice, and killed over 2,000 cattle and 170,000 poultryin Vietnam, causing a property loss of over 900 billion Vietnamesedong (some 57 million US dollars). Enditem

Wednesday 28th September 2005
Powerful typhoon pounds northern Vietnam

Vietnam Tribune
Tuesday 27th September, 2005


Typhoon Damrey pounded northern Vietnam Tuesday, injuring several people and causing widespread damage to the north and central coast.

Vietnamese authorities say Damrey came ashore early Tuesday morning in Thanh Hoa province, south of Hanoi, with heavy rain and winds around 100 kilometers an hour.

Officials say some of the coast's protective dikes have been seriously damaged, and several provinces have lost electricity.

Authorities evacuated around 300,000 people in advance of the storm.

Before hitting Vietnam, Damrey slammed into the southern Chinese provinces of Hainan and Guangdong on Monday. China' state news agency, Xinhua, says the storm killed at least 16 people on Hainan and caused an island-wide blackout.

Xinhua reports dikes and reservoirs were also damaged in Guangdong province, and large tracts of farmland have been flooded

http://story.vietnamtribune.com/p.x/ct/9/cid/fc849e836694179b/id/204d726b9411eb8a/

Typhoon Damrey Makes Landfall in Vietnam

By RICHARD VOGEL, Associated Press Writer
Tue Sep 27, 3:16 PM ET

THANH HOA, Vietnam - After killing at least 31 people in China and the Philippines, Typhoon Damrey slammed ashore Tuesday in Vietnam, forcing the evacuation of nearly 300,000 people along the coastal region.

The most powerful typhoon to hit northern Vietnam in a decade injured nine people after it landed in Thanh Hoa province, packing winds of up to 60 mph, said Le Van Thao of the National Meteorology Center. Thanh Hoa is 100 miles south of Hanoi.

About 144,000 people from Thanh Hoa and another 145,000 from three surrounding provinces were evacuated from low-lying homes, schools and government buildings before the storm hit, said provincial disaster official Tran Quang Trung.

Some 950 homes were destroyed and another 9,000 were badly damaged.

Power outages were reported in Thai Binh and Thanh Hoa provinces, home to 5 million people.

More than 25,000 soldiers have been sent to help reinforce sea dikes and evacuate people, state media reported.

High tides sent 15-foot waves surging over a 100-mile sea wall in Thanh Hoa and Nam Dinh, Trung said. In another spot in Thanh Hoa, waves burst through the dike, creating a 100-foot-long break that flooded one village.

National broadcaster VTV reported that falling power poles injured five people in Thanh Hoa, while disaster officials said four workers had been slightly injured while clearing downed trees from the streets.

About 700 people were stranded in Thanh Hoa's Quang Cu village after surging waters breached a dike and engulfed their homes, VTV reported.

Initial damage is estimated at $5.2 million in Thanh Hoa alone, disaster relief officials said. About 950 homes were destroyed and another 9,000 lost their roofs.

VTV showed Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, wearing a rain poncho and soldier's helmet, touring a district in Nam Dinh province where dikes were breached, inundating three villages with 5 feet of water.

"Up to now, no deaths have been reported. That's our victory," he said.

Surrounded by rescue workers in life jackets, Dung urged local authorities to evacuate more people to safety and provide them with food and health care. Some 30,000 people from the district had been evacuated to higher ground the night before.

Weather forecasters said Typhoon Damrey was weakening as it slowly moved across northern and central Vietnam. By late afternoon, it was already crossing the border into Laos.

Eight flights to and from Hanoi were canceled Tuesday, temporarily stranding 400 passengers at the airport, said Vietnam Airlines spokesman Nguyen Chan.

Before hitting Vietnam, Typhoon Damrey — which means elephant in the Khmer language of Cambodia — ravaged southern China's Hainan island and the neighboring province of Guangdong, killing nine.

Four others were killed by tornadoes spawned by the typhoon, China's official Xinhua News Agency reported. Officials said about 25,000 homes were demolished and another 100,000 damaged, Xinhua reported.

It was the most destructive typhoon to hit southern China in more than three decades.

While still a tropical storm in the Philippines last week, Damrey triggered rain that killed at least 18 people there.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050927/ap_on_re_as/vietnam_typhoon_2

Reuters - Tue Sep 27,11:01 AM ET
A view of the flooded Da Loc village in Vietnam's Thanh Hoa province, about 150 km (93 miles) south of Hanoi, September 27, 2005. Typhoon Damrey smashed into Vietnam on Tuesday after killing 16 people in China, tearing into vital networks of sea dykes on a long stretch of coastline after more than 330,000 people had been evacuated. One person was killed in Vietnam's Thanh Hoa province, where the typhoon landed on Tuesday, while trying to tie down the roof of a house, the state-run Tien Phong (vanguard) newspaper said. BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE NO ARCHIVES NO SALES REUTERS/VNA

Reuters - Tue Sep 27,11:15 AM ET
A Vietnamese official visits a flooded area affected by Typhoon Damrey in Vietnam's northern Dam Ninh province, about 100 km south of Hanoi, September 27, 2005. Typhoon Damrey smashed into Vietnam on Tuesday after killing 16 people in China, tearing into vital networks of sea dykes on a long stretch of coastline after more than 330,000 people had been evacuated. BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE NO ARCHIVES NO SALES REUTERS/VNA

AFP/File - Tue Sep 27, 1:26 PM ET
Vietnamese vllagers carry their belonging past flooded houses in Hai Hoa commune, a northern province of Nam Dinh. Typhoon Damrey wrought widespread damage along Vietnam's northern and central coast, where officials evacuated 300,000 people after the storm battered parts of China.(AFP/File/Hoang Dinh Nam)

Typhoon Damrey struck Vietnam as a tropical storm at about 00:00 GMT on 27 September. Data supplied by the US Navy and Air Force Joint Typhoon Warning Center suggest that the point of landfall was near 19.5 N, 106.2 E. Damrey brought 1-minute maximum sustained winds to the region of around 101 km/hr (63 mph). Wind gusts in the area may have been considerably higher.


The information above is provided for guidance only and should not be used to make life or death decisions or decisions relating to property. Anyone in the region who is concerned for their personal safety or property should contact their official national weather agency or warning centre for advice.

This alert is provided by Tropical Storm Risk (TSR) sponsored by Benfield, Royal & SunAlliance, Crawford & Company and UCL (University College London). TSR acknowledge the support of the UK Met Office.

http://www.alertnet.org/thefacts/reliefresources/TSR/200517W_17W.htm

Typhoon Damrey toll mounts as floods sweep in

28 Sep 2005 06:57:26 GMT

By Ho Binh Minh

HANOI, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Flash floods spawned by Typhoon Damrey killed at least four people in Thailand on Wednesday and hard-hit Vietnam reported 22 swept away in similar torrents in its northern mountains.

The deaths took the known toll to at least 41 in Damrey's rampage across the main Philippine island of Luzon, the southern Chinese island of Hainan -- where the econmic damage was estimated at $1.2 billion -- Vietnam, Laos and northern Thailand.

Despite waning after hitting land in Vietnam on Tuesday, Damrey -- Khmer for elephant -- was still pounding wide areas with heavy rain and a Thai official said water spilling from a breached dam threatened the northern city of Chiang Mai.

"Heavy rain broke the reservoir and the water will flow into Chiang Mai today. Right now, the city is throwing up walls of sand bags," said Prasert Indee, a senior official in the area.

Vietnam, where five people are known to have been killed, issued flood warnings after Damrey's 130 kph (80 mph) winds and 5-metre (16-foot) sea surges shattered sections of the network of sea dykes protecting a key rice growing area.

State television said soldiers had been sent to the mountainous northern province of Yen Bai to look for the 22 people swept away.

The area in Vietnam most likely to suffer floods was the province of Ninh Binh, 90 km (55 miles) south of Hanoi, the government's Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention said.

The lashing rains Damrey brought were swelling rivers very quickly and it ordered five other northern provinces to reinforce dykes yet further.

The rains also struck Laos, where the government said it had no immediate reports of major damage.

"We've had heavy rain all night and we are monitoring the flooding situation closely, but there is nothing major so far. Just some roofing gone," Lao government spokesman Yong Chanhthalansy said.

POWER, PHONES CUT

Vietnam's dyke system, built to withstand strong gales and protect rice fields in the north, buckled under the power of winds and sea surges.

Sections crumpled in four provinces, power supplies and telecommunications were hit and thousands of homes swamped, state media said.

The government said at least 180,000 hectares (445,000 acres) of rice in seven provinces were damaged.

But the typhoon did not hit the Central Highlands coffee belt further to the south and had no impact on crude oil output as Vietnam's offshore rigs are well to the south.

The government said in a statement read out on national television on Tuesday it was rushing emergency food and supplies to devastated areas to which 330,000 people evacuees returned only to find homes and rice fields under water.

Nguyen Thi Nguyet, general secretary of the Vietnam Food Association, said the government was expected to take food relief from national reserves and would have no impact on exports.

"Rice from the region's warehouses can be used to meet the food demand," she told Reuters. "Besides, the region is also harvesting a crop with higher yields this year."

The northern region incorporating the Red River Delta is Vietnam's second-largest rice growing area after the Mekong Delta in the south.

It produces about 36 percent of Vietnam's rice, which is used mainly for domestic consumption, and shrimp and fish farms in the area also suffered typhoon damage.

But the disruption to production in flooded areas will reduce supplies of vegetables and seafood to regional markets, including Hanoi, home to 3 million people where prices have already started rising. (Additional reporting by Ed Cropley and Apornrath Phoonphongphiphat in BANGKOK)

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/SP148394.htm

Typhoon Damrey toll rises to 36 in Vietnam

Wed Sep 28, 8:46 AM ET


HANOI (AFP) - The death toll from Typhoon Damrey in Vietnam rose sharply to 36, with 32 deaths reported in the northern province of Yen Bai alone.

Vietnam Television (VTV) said the deaths in Yen Bai occurred in flash floods sparked by the typhoon. Two deaths each were reported earlier in the provinces of Nam Dinh and Thanh Hoa.

"The flooding occurred all of a sudden, we were so fightened that we left our property and fled," a Yen Bai resident told VTV on Wednesday. "The waters rose extremely quickly."

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20050928/sc_afp/asiaweathervietnamtoll_050928124657

AFP - Wed Sep 28, 8:46 AM ET
People walk among heavily damaged houses at the coastal communitee of Hai Thinh in the northern Vietnamese province of Nam Dinh. The death toll from Typhoon Damrey in Vietnam rose sharply to 36 -- with 32 deaths in the northern province of Yen Bai.(AFP)