Typhoon Damrey and floods kill 74 in Asia

By Ho Binh Minh
2 hours, 13 minutes ago

HANOI (Reuters) - The death toll from flash floods spawned by Typhoon Damrey more than doubled on Wednesday as the hardest-hit Vietnam said it had recovered the bodies of 33 people swept away in the northern mountains.

The deaths took the known toll to at least 74 in Damrey's rampage across the main Philippine island of Luzon, the southern Chinese island of Hainan -- where the economic damage was estimated at $1.2 billion -- Vietnam, Laos and northern Thailand.

State-run Vietnam Television said 38 people were swept away on Tuesday night as the worst floods in 40 years struck Yen Bai province, 180 km (110 miles) northwest of Hanoi, and soldiers had so far retrieved 32 bodies.

"The water rose extremely fast and we had no where to run," a woman in Yen Bai said.

The broadcaster said another person was killed by landslides in neighboring Lao Cai province.

Four died in similar torrents in Thailand while China and the Philippines each reported 16 deaths.

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

The city threw up walls of sandbags 5 metres (16 feet) high in vulnerable areas along the river, but the top official in the region said the water was seeping relatively slowly from the reservoir, which has a capacity of 2 million cubic metres.

"We are keeping eyes on the water level, but we are quite sure we can hold it," Chiang Mai Governor Suwat Tantipat told Reuters.

Vietnam has issued flood warnings after Damrey's 130 kph (80 mph) winds and 5-meter (16-foot) sea surges shattered sections of the network of sea dykes protecting a key rice growing area.

Prime Minister Phan Van Khai at a Wednesday cabinet meeting called on rescue missions to seal off the broken dykes and pump out water to help farmers finish rice harvesting.

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.

It ordered five other northern provinces to reinforce dykes.

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

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.

The government said at least 180,000 ha (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 it was rushing emergency food and supplies to devastated areas to which 330,000 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 it would have no impact on exports.

"Rice from the region's warehouses can be used to meet the food demand," she told Reuters, adding that the region was harvesting a bumper crop 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, used mainly for domestic consumption, and shrimp and fish farms in the area also suffered typhoon damage.

But the disruption to production 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://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050928/wl_nm/weather_vietnam_dc_6

Typhoon Damrey claims more victims in Vietnam

Last Updated 29/09/2005, 13:52:16




Vietnam's death toll from Typhoon Damrey has risen to at least 50 with six missing.

Provincial flood control official Nguyen Dinh Vo says as many as 44 deaths occurred in flash floods in the inland province of Yen Bai.

"We have recovered the bodies of 24 of the 44 victims and a massive search for more victims is proceeding intensively in the whole province," he said.

Mr Vo was speaking from Yen Bai City, nearly 200 kilometres northwest of Hanoi.

Two people died in the neighbouring mountainous provinces of Lao Cai and Phu Tho, and four more lives were lost in the coastal Nam Dinh and Thanh Hoa.

Vietnam had earlier reported 36 deaths.

In the Philippines, there are 16 reported deaths, 16 in southern China and three in Thailand.

Typhoon Damrey, with winds of more than 200 kilometres an hour, caused more than $US1 billion damage in China, breached sea dykes in Vietnam, and brought widespread flooding to northern Thailand, before blowing itself out on Wednesday.

There are now reports that Typhoon Longwang is building strength in the western Pacific Ocean, with winds of more than 200 kilometres an hour, as it heads for Taiwan.

http://abc.net.au/ra/news/stories/s1470974.htm

Typhoon Damrey
Typhoon Damrey was passing over the Chinese island of Hainan when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this image at 11:20 a.m. local time, on September 26, 2005. At the time of this MODIS observation, Damrey was winding down from its peak and would soon become a tropical storm. Damrey had sustained winds of 120 kilometers per hour (75 miles per hour) near the storm’s center.

NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response team

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/shownh.php3?img_id=13163

4 dead as floods wash away central Vietnam

Associated Press
Hanoi, October 24, 2005

By rains have caused widespread flooding in central Vietnam, killing at least four people and damaging hundreds of homes, disaster officials said on Monday.

Floodwaters in Binh Dinh province, 1,050 km (650 miles) south of the Hanoi, washed away three people and inundated more than 250 homes over the weekend, said provincial disaster official Ngo Hong Khanh.

He said the floods also damaged 3,700 hectares (9,140 acres) of rice in the province.

In neighbouring Phu Yen province, floods washed away one person, provincial disaster official Dang Thi Lanh said.

The officials said water levels in rivers across the two provinces were slowly receding, with only light rain reported on Monday.

Vietnam is prone to floods and storms, which kill scores of people each year.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1527891,00050004.htm

Sunday, October 30, 2005 13:07:09 Vietnam (GMT+07)


Vietnam prepares for decade’s most violent storm



Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khai directed authorities in the country’s central region Saturday to take comprehensive measures to cope with storm No. 8 which is forecast to make landfall by Sunday.
He wanted boats at sea to be called in to shore, safety of reservoirs ensured, and rescue workers mobilized, especially for evacuating people in areas directly in the storm’s path and those vulnerable to flashfloods and landslides.

However, the evacuation may prove tricky since many people in the area are reluctant to move leaving behind their large, heavily-invested aquatic farms.

To worsen matters, coastal residents lacked necessary knowledge about preventive measures, Le Huy Ngo, head of the Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention, told a meeting held Saturday to discuss safety measures.

Ngo said emphasis should be laid on precautions rather than relief in the storm’s aftermath.

Officials from the National Hydrometeorology Center reported at the meeting that the storm’s eye was situated north of the Truong Sa archipelago, 450 km southeast of the Binh Dinh and Phu Yen coasts, while the system had winds blowing at 75-102 km/hr.

The storm, feared to be the most massive to hit Vietnam’s central provinces in the last 10 years, is moving northwestward at over 10 km/hr and is set to make landfall in Quang Ngai and Binh Dinh by Sunday.

Strengthened by the northern cold front and winds, the storm was expected to be bring strong, gusty winds and torrential rains, the weather officials warned.

The steering committee reported that 31 people died and 6,340 homes had been inundated due to stormy weather in the last few days.

Reported by VNA, M.Quan, M.Vong- Translated by Ngoc Hanh

http://tsr.mssl.ucl.ac.uk/

Typhoon Kai-tak likely to cause heavy rain

Monday 31 October 2005

Tropical storm Kai-tak has developed into a typhoon and is expected to cause heavy rain in the North and South. Rain will continue in the Northeast, the Central Plains and the East, according to the Meteorological Department.

The typhoon is expected to enter the Gulf of Tonkin and make a landing in Vietnam tomorrow.

It will not have any strong impact on Thailand, except for heavy rains and two-metre-high waves in the Gulf of Thailand.

Downpours are expected in Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Phayao, Nan, Phangnga and Phuket.

In Chiang Mai, four houses at Samakkhi Pattana community in Muang district were damaged when the wall of a real estate project collapsed on them in heavy rain on Saturday.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/31Oct2005_news14.php

Vietnam braces for powerful typhoon

Sun Oct 30,10:47 PM ET

HANOI (Reuters) - A powerful typhoon churning through the South China Sea is expected to hit central Vietnam this week, which could trigger high waves, landslides and floods in a region where bad weather has already killed 25 people in over a week.

The National Hydro Meteorology Forecast Center said on Monday Typhoon Kai-Tak, with winds of up to 133 km per hour (83 mph) , would dump heavy rain on eight central provinces, from Ha Tinh in the north to Binh Dinh in the south.

It was centered around 370 km (230 miles) off the coast.

The typhoon, named after Hong Kong's old airport, was moving northwest at 5-10 km per hour (3-6 mph) along the central coast, a weather bulletin said.

Floods triggered by heavy rains in the past 10 days have killed at least 25 people in five provinces, including 12 in Binh Dinh, according to a government committee on flooding and storm prevention.

About 67,500 people were moving away from high risk areas along the coast, fishing boats were seeking shelter in ports and soldiers had been sent to help out with disaster preparations, the state-run Nhan Dan newspaper said.

Typhoon Kai-Tak is not expected to affect Vietnam's key coffee and rice growing regions, which lie further to the south. However, the ancient towns of Hue and Hoi An, both of which are U.N.-listed World Heritage Sites, lie in its projected path.

Vietnam is the world's second-largest coffee producer after Brazil and also number two in rice exports after Thailand.

With a long coastline facing the South China Sea, Vietnam suffers around 10 typhoons or tropical storms each year.

Last month, Typhoon Damrey killed 120 people as it left a trail of destruction stretching from the Philippines to China, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051031/wl_nm/weather_vietnam_dc

.

Link: Typhoon Kai Tak

Posted 10/31/2005 9:41 AM

MORE ON TYPHOONS
Background and news
How typhoons are named
U.S. National Weather Service, Guam
U.S. Navy Joint Typhoon Warning Center
Pacific Daily News, Guam

Vietnam braces for powerful typhoon

HANOI, Vietnam (Reuters) — A powerful typhoon churning through the South China Sea is expected to hit central Vietnam this week, which could trigger high waves, landslides and floods in a region where bad weather has already killed 25 people in over a week.

.....

http://www.usatoday.com/weather/storms/2005-10-31-typhoon-kai-tak_x.htm

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051031/wl_nm/weather_vietnam_dc

Typhoon Damrey makes landfall in Vietnam

By Richard Vogel, Associated Press Writer
Posted 9/27/2005 9:32 AM

THANH HOA, Vietnam — After killing at least 31 people in China and the Philippines, Typhoon Damrey slammed ashore in Vietnam on Tuesday, forcing the evacuation of nearly 300,000 people along the coastal region.
Damrey, the most powerful typhoon to hit northern Vietnam in a decade, injured nine people after it landed in Thanh Hoa province early Tuesday, packing winds of up to 60 miles an hour, 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 local government buildings before the storm hit, said provincial disaster official Tran Quang Trung.

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

A power blackout was 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.

Earlier 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 tornados thrown off 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.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

http://www.usatoday.com/weather/stormcenter/2005-09-27-typhoon-vietnam_x.htm?csp=34

05/20/2005 - Updated 11:01 AM ET

How typhoons are named

By Jack Williams, USATODAY.com

Typhoons are tropical cyclones that form over the Pacific Ocean north of the equator, and west of the International Date Line, or cross the Date Line after forming on its eastern side.

Other tropical cyclones include hurricanes that form over the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, or the Pacific Ocean north of the equator and east of the Date Line. (Related: Latest news on tropical cyclones, other storms.)

While most naming systems for tropical cyclones use common first names, in various languages, the nations around the western Pacific began using an entirely new system for naming typhoons in 2000. (Related: Why, how storms are named)

Each of the 14 nations that typhoons affect submitted a list of names for a total of 141 names. The names include animals, flowers, astrological signs and a few personal names.

http://www.usatoday.com/weather/hurricane/typhoon-names.htm

05/20/2005 - Updated 11:01 AM ET

How and why storms are named

By Jack Williams, USATODAY.com


NOAA
Hurricane Lili in 2002. At times, names can seem to help give hurricanes a "personality."

Forecasters give names to tropical cyclones, including hurricanes, to avoid confusion when more than one storm is being followed at the same time.

While it might be cute to think that a forecaster will tag a storm with his ex-wife's name, or the name of a neighbor he dislikes, the system is much more formal, if not downright bureaucratic.

Tropical cyclones are the only storms that forecasters name.

Hurricanes are tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Basin (Atlantic, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico) and in the Pacific east of the International Date Line. Typhoons are tropical cyclones over the northern Pacific west of the date line. Tropical cyclones in the South Pacific and over the Indian Ocean are just called cyclones. (Related: What is a tropical cyclone)

A storm is named when it reaches tropical storm strength with winds of 39 mph, and becomes a hurricane or typhoon when its wind speed reaches 74 mph.

Tornadoes come and go so quickly - usually in minutes - that forecasters don't have time to name them. Extratropical storms don't bring the concentrated violence of hurricanes, although a few can leave major damage, especilly blizzards.

Back in the old days

Before they started naming storms, hurricane forecasters had to refer to storms by saying something like, "the storm 500 miles east-southeast of Miami." But six hours later the storm's position would change.

When more than one storm was going on at the same time, making it clear which storm was being described made the job even harder.

Before official names began, some forecasters informally named storms without making the names public. This made it easier for the forecasters to follow storms, but it didn't help make clear to the public which storm was which.

Organized naming began in 1950

Forecasters formally begin naming Atlantic Basin in 1950, using names from the international phonetic alphabet of the time: Able, Baker, Charlie, and so on. They started using female, English-language names in 1953, and switched to alternating male and female names in 1979. They also began using French and Spanish male and female names at this time. (Related: This year's Atlantic Basin, eastern Pacific names)

A sidelight: The first three male names used, Bob, David and Frederick have all been retired because they did tremendous damage. Frederick and David were retired because of the damage they did in 1979. Bob was retired after Hurricane Bob hit New England in 1991. (Related: Retired Atlantic Basin names)

How today's names are selected

The World Meteorological Organization's (WMO) Regional Association IV Hurricane Committee selects the names for Atlantic Basin and central and eastern Pacific storms.

For the Atlantic Basin and the eastern Pacific, six lists of names are used, with each list used again - minus any retired names - six years after it was last used. The WMO's regional committee selects the names to replaces those that are retired. Each year the names start with the "A" storm on that year's list, no matter how many names were used the previous year.

Hawaiian names are used for central Pacific storms. Here, a revolving list of four sets of names is used and each storm that forms gets the next available name on the list, regardless of the year.

Similar WMO regional committees are involved in selecting names for other parts of the world, but not all nations involved go along with these names. (Related: Global names list)

While most naming systems use common first names, in various languages, nations around the western Pacific began using an entirely new system for naming typhoons in 2000. Each of the 14 nations that typhoons affect submitted a list of names for a total of 141 names. The names include animals, flowers, astrological signs and a few personal names. (Related: Western Pacific typhoon names)


Source: Hurricane Watch: Forecasting the Deadliest Storms on Earth

Thursday, September 29, 2005 10:56:48 Vietnam (GMT+07)


Typhoon-triggered floods devastate Vietnam northern commune


Flash floods sparked by Typhoon Damrey, which hit Vietnam Tuesday, have wreaked havoc in the northern province of Yen Bai, with Cat Thinh commune completely devastated.
The commune was covered in mud, water, and garbage, with houses reduced to rubble and bare foundations.

People could be seen on the streets with faces twisted in horror and grief. Women were crying for the loss of loved ones, while men were scavenging belongings not swept away by the flood water.

Grief

“I heard spring water flowing strongly last night and I knew it was flooding, but in the last 20 years, the floods have never been serious,” Hung, a local man, said.

“I cannot imagine,” he moaned, pointing to a totally leveled piece of land, “that was my house, the only fortune of my whole hard-working life.”

“However, fortunately, my wife and I escaped.”

In front of a boarding school, dozens of parents were mourning the loss of a large number of students, their children, who had been swept away the previous night.

At another place, people were gathering for a funeral for a 14-year-old boy, the first body to be found by rescue workers.

Twenty four people were killed or unaccounted for in Cat Thinh, as the total death toll in Yen Bai topped 38.

Isolation

The commune was completely isolated after roads were seriously damaged and phone lines went dead; the area has no mobile phone network.

It was also grappling with a power blackout as high tension poles had collapsed. Electricity was expected to come back in three days at the latest.

In the commune, hundreds of houses have been leveled or seriously damaged and seven bridges have collapsed.

Dozens of hectares of rice, and hundreds of heads of cattle and pigs, the local people’s major means of livelihood, had also been swept away.

Troops garrisoned in the province have been deployed for rescue work and helping the locals repair roads and bridges.

Reported by Le Phien – Translated by Hieu Trung.

http://www.thanhniennews.com/features/?catid=10&newsid=9502

Thursday, September 29, 2005 10:49:42 Vietnam (GMT+07)

Flash floods kill 47 people in Vietnam’s northern mountains


Flash floods caused by Typhoon Damrey devastated provinces in Vietnam’s northern mountains early Wednesday, killing 47 people and causing serious damage to property.
Damrey rampaged across Vietnam’s coastal provinces and spawned flash floods in the mountains as water levels of rivers in Yen Bai, Phu Tho, Hoa Binh, and Lao Cai provinces rose rapidly.

Reports said by 9.15 Wednesday night, 38 people had been swept away as the killer floods struck Yen Bai, 180 kilometers northwest of Hanoi. Four others were missing.

Rescuers have so far retrieved eight bodies.

Two people died in Hoa Binh province and another in Lao Cai in similar torrents and landslides Tuesday night.

In the neighboring Phu Tho province, six bodies were found but only two victims could be identified. The four others were possibly swept away in Yen Bai and drifted downstream to Phu Tho, according to the Central Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention.

The provinces also suffered huge damage to property though they have yet to be tallied. Thousands of homes have been swamped.

Many sections of National Highways 32 and 37, local roads, and bridges were washed away or inundated, blocking traffic for hours.

Heavy rains and winds paralyzed communications and electricity systems at several places. Power and telecom services were hit.

The Red River was in spate, inundating some 6,000 hectares of crops in Yen Bai.

In Phu Tho, 200 people in a commune were marooned in their homes after a river dike broke. Fortunately, they were saved and evacuated to safety.

Reported by Manh Quan - Translated by T.H.

http://www.thanhniennews.com/society/?catid=3&newsid=9499

Typhoon Damrey toll hits 120; Vietnam suffers most
By Ho Binh Minh
Fri Sep 30, 9:32 AM ET

HANOI (Reuters) - The death toll from Typhoon Damrey and the flash floods it spawned in several Asian countries rose to at least 120 on Friday.

The official Vietnam News Agency said all 51 people swept away by flash floods in the northern province of Yen Bai, 180 km (110 miles) northwest of Hanoi, had died.

State-run Vietnam Television said 39 bodies had been found.

China, where Damrey caused huge damage on the southern island of Hainan, raised its toll from 16 to 25 and Thailand said two more people had been killed in flash floods in the north, taking its total to nine.

While Damrey -- Khmer for elephant -- killed only five people as it roared ashore in northern Vietnam on Tuesday, 65 people were killed by flash floods as it also lashed parts of Laos and northern Thailand with torrential rain.

The Philippines reported 16 deaths in Damrey's rampage across its main island of Luzon while the official Xinhua news agency quoted a Chinese official as saying it caused economic losses of 11.6 billion yuan.

Damrey nearly wiped out the aquaculture industry on Hainan and damaged the power grid and rubber plantations there, Xinhua quoted the official as saying.

On Thursday, Vietnam Communist Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh toured Yen Bai and urged officials to speed up the distribution of relief.

"You comrades must take immediate care for the victims' families and do not let anyone be hungry," Manh told Yen Bai officials in a television broadcast.

On Friday the Fatherland Front, the party's mass organization, appealed Vietnamese at home and overseas for help.

Prime Minister Phan Van Khai told provincial governments to evacuate people in areas at risk from landslides and flash floods.

FLOODS INEVITABLE

Lack of a proper flood warning system in Vietnam made it difficult to save lives, Nguyen Lan Chau, deputy director of the National Hydro and Meteorology Center, was quoted as saying by the state-run Ho Chi Minh City Laws newspaper.

Meanwhile, more than 2,400 people have been evacuated for a second time in Thanh Hoa province, one of the two provinces where Damrey landed, as rivers swelled and breached sea dykes still posed a danger.

About 330,000 people were evacuated in advance of the typhoon's arrival.

More than 10,400 homes and schools in Vietnam were destroyed or damaged. Damrey also shattered nearly 120 km (75 miles) of dykes built to protect rice fields from the sea, the government's Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention said.

Power supplies and telecommunications were hit when the typhoon landed blowing at more than 130 kph (80 mph) and a preliminary government estimate put losses at $44 million.

State television said Phu Tho province faced inundation after floods hit Yen Bai in its upstream while salt farmers on the northern coast, where the typhoon struck, were without food and local authorities had run out of stocks of noodles.

"Now we are empty handed," Phu Tho resident Le Thi Chanh told the state television.

Rice, instant noodles and bottled water have been rushed to flood-hit areas while state media said cholera -- a disease caught from polluted water -- had broken out in many places and the Health Ministry was sending experts and medical aid.

Workers were repairing dykes to help farmers finish harvesting rice in a region which is Vietnam's second-most important producer of the staple food after the Mekong Delta in the south.

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.

(Additional reporting by Nick Macfie in BEIJING and Apornrath Phoonphongphiphat in BANGKOK)

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050930/wl_nm/weather_vietnam_dc_3

http://www.bbc.co.uk/vietnamese/vietnam/story/2005/09/050928_damrey_aftermath.shtml

Damrey death toll at 97, damage estimated at 1.8tr dong

01/Oct/2005 Saigon Giai Phong page 9

The typhoon Damrey which hit eight provinces in the north and the central regions last week left a trail of destruction with losses estimated at 1.8 trillion dong.

After the typhoon turned into a tropical depression, torrential rain triggered flash floods in several mountainous provinces in the central and northern regions killing 96 and injuring 13 in the provinces of Yen Bai, Lao Cai, Phu Tho, Hoa Binh, and Nghe An.

http://www.accessvietnam.net/Intellasia.html#_Toc116114752

Wednesday, October 5, 2005 11:29:43 Vietnam (GMT+07)


Flooding claims 9 in Mekong Delta provinces


Floods in Long An province took 9 lives and injured scores more, causing considerable property damage, reported the provincial Steering Board for Flood and Storm Prevention.
Among the dead, six were children, including two kids from the neighboring province of Dong Thap who traveled with their family to Long An’s Tan Hung commune.

Torrential rains and high tides also brought about water levels up to 3.5m in communes within the Dong Thap Muoi wetland.

As well, the floods caused massive damage to some 300ha of rice paddies, brought down 1,925 homes, with the province currently evacuating 1,649 local families from Tan Hung, Vinh Hung, Moc Hoa and Tan Thanh communes to safe grounds, the board added.

Reported by H.Phuong – Translated by Ngoc Hanh.

http://www.thanhniennews.com/society/?catid=3&newsid=9646

Monday, October 10, 2005 21:56:16 Vietnam (GMT+07)

Central Vietnam floods claims ten lives



Floods triggered by heavy rains claimed ten lives in Vietnam’s central provinces, causing great losses estimated at some VND30 billion in the past two days.
Rainfalls of between 250-450 mm and 476 mm, which were resulted from a tropical depression and cold air, were recorded in the region from Quang Binh to Thua Thien-Hue, causing water levels in all major rivers to rise above the highest warning level.

Floods killed seven people at the hardest-hit Quang Binh province, two in Quang Tri and one in Thu Thien-Hue. Almost 16,000 houses in Quang Binh were inundated, forcing the evacuation of thousands of locals.

Quang Binh authorities reported that 1,000 ha of farm produce had been totally destroyed, some 12,000 cattle and poultry killed, and over 2 million farm fish washed away.

Floods also caused severe damages to the local infrastructure, even submerging a section of the trans-Vietnam national highway 1A, causing a traffic jam of hundreds of vehicles.

Provincial authorities said they were coordinating with the army to evacuate people from areas threatened by landslides and provide emergency aid to flood victims.

(Source: VNA)


http://www.thanhniennews.com/society/?catid=3&newsid=9772

Floods on Cuu Long River exceed alert level 3

09/21/2005 -- 17:18(GMT+7)

Ha Noi, (VNA) – Water levels on the upper part of the Cuu Long River, the portion of the Mekong River that crosses southern Viet Nam, have risen above alert level 3, the highest alert level.

The highest water level on the Tien tributary was measured at 4.35m at Tan Chau, or 0.15m higher than alert level 3, and 1.8m in My Thuan, higher than alert level 3 by 0.2m, on September 20.

On the same day, water levels of the Hau tributary at Chau Doc, Long Xuyen, and Can Tho also surpassed the highest alert level by between 0.15m and 0.37m.

The National Hydro-Meteorology Forecast Centre (NHMFC) forecasted that water in the two Cuu Long tributaries will continue to rise in the next few days, surpassing alert level 3 of up to 0.3m, before gradually receding.

The rising watermight threaten agricultural production, and the people living in the reeds of Dong Thap Muoi and Long Xuyen Quadrangular.

The NHMFC also announced that floods on the upper parts of the Mekong River are rising again with water levels measured 7.92m in Vientiane and 10.18m in Pak Se of Laos, and 19.88m in Crachie and 8.87m in Phnom Penh Port of Cambodia on the morning of Sept. 21.-Enditem

http://feeds.laosnews.net/?rid=d25270f263cc05e2&cat=a6670896145a3ae3&f=1

AFP - Fri Sep 30, 4:20 AM ET
Villagers inspect the site where a flash-flood caused by Typhoon Damrey demolished houses in the village of Cat Thinh in the Northern province of Yen Bai. Vietnam had prepared for the looming typhoon, packing winds of 200 kilometres (125 miles) per hour, by evacuating some 300,000 people along its coast(AFP)

Tuesday, October 25, 2005 22:14:26 Vietnam (GMT+07)
E-mail to a friend Print version

Floods leave 67 dead in central, southern Vietnam




Three central provinces Binh Dinh, Quang Nam and Quang Ngai reported a total of 14 fatalities. The death toll was higher in the Mekong Delta, including 29 in An Giang province, 11 in Dong Thap province, and 13 in Long An province.

Rising water levels have also submerged over 3,560 houses in Long An province and over 3,200 houses in Binh Dinh province.

In Binh Dinh, torrential rains damaged more than 12,000 hectares of crop and some sections of dykes and the North-South railway.

The National Hydro-Meteorology Forecast Center (NHMFC) said that floods in rivers in central Quang Ngai province and in the upper part of the Thu Bon river in Quang Nam and Da Nang had reached their peak and were receding slowly.

It also forecast that floodwaters in the upper parts of the Tien tributary at Tan Chau and the Hau tributary at Chau Doc in the Mekong Delta were receding slowly.

The agriculture sector in Mekong Delta provinces is encouraging farmers to clean their rice-fields to prepare for the cultivation of the winter-spring rice crop just after floodwaters recede.

(Reported by D. Phu, T. Anh, C. Nguyen, Hua Xuyen Huynh, M.V.)

http://www.thanhniennews.com/society/?catid=3&newsid=10095

Floods claim 57 lives in Vietnam
Tue Oct 25,12:21 PM ET

HANOI (AFP) - Fifty-seven people have perished in floods ravaging the Mekong delta in southern Vietnam and in the central region over the last several weeks, according to the last official tolls released.

The official Vietnam News Agency said four people died in central Binh Dinh province and 53 in the three southern provinces of An Giang, Dong Thap and Long An.

Thousands hectares of rice and some dykes have been damaged VNA said.

The agriculture sector in Mekong Delta provinces is encouraging farmers to clean their rice-fields to prepare for the cultivation of the winter-spring rice crop just after floodwaters recede.

Thousands of people have been displaced by the floods that regularly hit the Mekong region.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20051025/sc_afp/vietnamweathertoll_051025162117

Typhoon Kai-tak
31 Oct 2005 02:19:00 GMT

Source: Tropical Storm Risk
Mark Saunders

PREVIOUS | NEXTTrack and windspeed of Typhoon Kai-tak Website: http://www.tropicalstormrisk.com

Typhoon Kai-tak is forecast to strike Vietnam at about 12:00 GMT on 2 November. Data supplied by the US Navy and Air Force Joint Typhoon Warning Center suggest that the point of landfall will be near 19.5 N, 106.4 E. Kai-tak is expected to bring 1-minute maximum sustained winds to the region of around 138 km/hr (86 mph). Wind gusts in the area may be considerably higher.

According to the Saffir-Simpson damage scale the potential property damage and flooding from a storm of Kai-tak's strength (category 1) at landfall includes:

Storm surge generally 1.2-1.5 metres (4-5 feet) above normal.
No real damage to building structures.
Damage primarily to unanchored mobile homes, shrubbery, and trees.
Some damage to poorly constructed signs.
Some coastal road flooding and minor pier damage.
There is also the potential for flooding further inland due to heavy rain.

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/200522W_22W.htm

Typhoon Kai-tak

7 dead, 8 hurt in Kai-Tak Typhoon hit on Vietnam

01.11.2005, 17.21

HANOI, November 1 (Itar-Tass) -- No less than seven people died and eight were wounded as Kai-Tak Typhoon hit Vietnam.

The typhoon is moving northwest along the Vietnamese coast at the speed of about 130 kilometers per hour and may move inland within hours, the local television said.

Pouring rain and gale damaged power lines and trees. Several areas have a blackout, and a number of fishing boats are in distress offshore Vietnam.

The storm warning has been given to northern and central provinces. People are being evacuated from border areas. Rescue services, police and army are helping the evacuation.

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=2584506&PageNum=0

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 02 November 2005 1107 hrs

Nine dead as typhoon Kai Tak nears central Vietnam

HANOI: At least nine people were killed in Vietnam as typhoon Kai Tak approached the country's central coast, officials said Wednesday.

"Heavy rain hit several provinces. Thousands of houses were flooded," said Nguyen Van Hung, an official from the flood and storm committee in the central city of Danang.

Seven people were killed in Quang Ngai province and two in Thua Thien Hue.

"The typhoon was about 250 kilometres off the coast of Quang Ngai Wednesday morning and was moving around 10-15 kilometers per hour. It is difficult to say where it will hit the country in the hours to come," Hung told AFP.

In Hoi An, a seaside resort with a vast beach and a traditional village, more than 3,000 people had been evacuated.

The industrial port of Danang spent a few hours on Tuesday without electricity.

Most flights to Danang airport were cancelled and Chinese President Hu Jintao, expected to visit the central region, shortened his stay in Vietnam and was to leave the country early Wednesday.

In Quang Nam province about 15,000 people had been displaced.

Thousands of soldiers and police have been mobilised, Hung said.

The region is prone to seasonal flooding and frequent typhoons that often cause widespread devastation and loss of life.

Around thirty people were killed over the past two weeks by floods in the region.

In September Typhoon Damrey, packing winds of 200 kilometres per hour, left at least 111 people dead including 63 in Vietnam when it swept through East Asia. - AFP /ch

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/176554/1/.html

Ten die as Typhoon Kai-Tak batters Vietnam coast

02 Nov 2005 06:50:51 GMT

Source: Reuters

MORE
(Updates toll, Filipino missing, winds weakening)

By Ho Binh Minh

HANOI, Nov 2 (Reuters) - At least 10 people drowned and a Filipino was missing in central Vietnam as a typhoon nearing the coast dumped heavy rains on a region where bad weather has killed nearly 30 people in the past two weeks.

The National Hydro Meteorology Forecast Centre said on Wednesday 740 mm (29 in) of rain drenched Quang Ngai province, where six people died, even though Typhoon Kai-Tak, named after Hong Kong's old airport, weakened as it neared the coast.

Heavy rains knocked down hundreds of trees, causing blackouts and blocking roads in Danang, 760 km (470 miles) south of Hanoi, prompting Chinese President Hu Jintao to cancel a trip to the area during an official visit to Vietnam.

Three Vietnamese and a 49-year-old Filipino were swept away on Tuesday at the Bong Mieu Gold Property mine in Quang Nam province, but the three Vietnamese were rescued, a company official said.

"We are still searching for the missing man," she told Reuters. The mine is owned by Canada's Olympus Pacific Minerals Inc.

Four people drowned in Thua Thien-Hue province, where flooding of up to 0.7 m (2.3 ft) swamped Hue, including the old citadel, a U.N.-listed World Heritage Site, state-run Vietnam Television reported.

"The rains were terribly heavy yesterday and people had to use boats inside the citadel area," said a Hue resident who added that rains had stopped but floods had not receded.

However, floods did not hit the ancient town of Hoi An, another U.N.-listed World Heritage site just to the south, another resident said.

Winds at the centre of the storm weakened to 74 kph (46 mph) as Kai-Tak moved northwest, nearing the coast of Ha Tinh and Quang Binh provinces on Wednesday, a weather bulletin said.

Sections of railway line and the north-south Highway One were blocked by floods.

The government's committee on floods and storm prevention urged authorities in four central provinces to stay on alert for flash floods and landslides.

Prime Minister Phan Van Khai has ordered the release of 450 tonnes of rice from national food reserves to help people in the central region, where 67,000 people were evacuated as 29 people died in floods in late October.

Typhoon Kai-Tak did not affect Vietnam's key coffee and rice growing regions, which lie further to the south. Vietnam is the world's second-largest coffee producer after Brazil and number two in rice exports after Thailand.

With a long coastline facing the South China Sea, Vietnam suffers around 10 typhoons or tropical storms each year.

Last month, Typhoon Damrey killed 120 people as it left a trail of destruction stretching from the Philippines to China, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/HAN284702.htm

18 dead, 10 missing, as typhoon Kai Tak batters Vietnam

18 minutes ago


HANOI, (AFP) - Eighteen people were confirmed dead and 10 others listed as missing after Typhoon Kai Tak battered central Vietnam for a second day, officials said.

"Ten people remain missing and we are pursuing the search for them today," said Nguyen Van Hung, an official from the flood and storm committee in the central city of Danang.

"The typhoon weakened into a tropical depression after battering the central coastal regions," Hung said. "But heavy rains are persisting in the Red River region," in the northern part of the country.

It has so far caused material damage of about seven million dollars, he said.

A Filipino expert who was working at the Bong Mieu gold mine in Quang Nam province was killed in the flooding, Hung said. The Philippines embassy in Hanoi had no immediate comment on the report.

Scores of fishing boats may have sunk, official reports said.

Thousands of hectares of farmland have been destroyed and traffic was disrupted in the region.

Airports in Danang and Hue were closed on Tuesday but have since been reopened.

A section of the north-south railway was submerged, prompting authorities to cancel all train services through central Vietnam. Sections of a national highway were also sealed off.

Seaside resorts and tourist areas in the region, including those at Danang and Hoi An were closed.

Hundreds of houses were heavily damaged and several thousand people were displaced, Hung said.

The region is prone to seasonal flooding and frequent typhoons that often cause widespread destruction and loss of life. Thirty-one people were killed last month by floods in the region.

In September Typhoon Damrey, packing winds of 200 kilometres (125 miles) per hour, left at least 111 people dead during its sweep through East Asia -- 63 in Vietnam, 25 in China, 16 in the Philippines, and seven in Thailand.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20051103/wl_asia_afp/vietnamweather_051103060715