Vietnam braces for powerful typhoon
HANOI - 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.
Reuters - October 30, 2005.
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