Toll rises from Vietnam typhoon
At least 15 people in Vietnam are now known to have died as a result of Typhoon Xangsane, which buffeted central provinces over the weekend.
The coastal city of Danang was hardest hit, with hundreds of people injured and thousands of homes destroyed.
The typhoon devastated areas of the Philippines last week, killing at least 76 people and leaving millions without power and clean drinking water.
Xangsane has now been downgraded to a tropical storm.
'Overwhelmed'
Four provinces in central Vietnam - Danang, Thua Thien-Hue, Quang Nam and Quang Ngai - bore the brunt of the typhoon.
"The areas in the typhoon's direct path looked like they were just bombarded by B-52s" Nguyen Ngoc Quang, deputy provincial governor of Quang Nam, told reporters.
Trees were uprooted and roofs blown off houses, while there was concern for fishermen who did not return to port.
Electricity and telephone lines were also cut in many areas, with air and train travel disrupted. The worst of the damage was reported in Danang, where the typhoon hit at around 0900 local time (0200 GMT) on Saturday.
The cost of damages in Danang alone will amount to $200m, the authorities estimate, with more than 5,000 houses were washed away, 166,000 damaged and 19 vessels sunk.
"When I returned home, there was nothing left," said Danang resident Pham Thi Thanh.
Flooding was also reported in the port town of Hoi An, a popular tourist spot, and the Huong River was said to be rising in the former imperial capital of Hue.
Ahead of the storm, authorities had reinforced sea defences and evacuated abut 200,000 residents from vulnerable central areas.
While the typhoon has now been downgraded to a tropical storm, there are still strong risks of landslides and further flooding in the hills.
Xangsane caused severe damage in the Philippines, leaving many roads and bridges impassable. Dozens of people are still missing there.
The typhoon was the strongest to hit the capital, Manila, in 11 years, weather officials said.
BBC News - October 2, 2006.
Central Vietnam clears debris after typhoon strikes
DANANG - Disaster relief officials and residents on Monday cleared fallen trees and debris from the streets of a Vietnamese resort city a day after a typhoon hammered the central coast, killing at least six people.
A government report said hundreds of thousands of homes were destroyed or damaged by Typhoon Xangsane's high winds and rain in several central provinces and the resort of Danang, Vietnam's fourth largest city of about 1 million people.
The city began cleaning up on Sunday afternoon and some businesses were re-opening on Monday.
"We are reopen and business is back as usual," said a staff member at the Furama hotel resort.
A Reuters TV cameraman in Danang said a part of the airport terminal roof was torn off and city streets were strewn with trees, pieces of broken billboards and other debris. It was sunny in Danang, but the outskirts were flooded.
Vietnam Airlines said it was resuming service to the central region after suspending all flights on Sunday.
The National Flood and Storm Control Committee said that six people were killed and 192 injured in the typhoon, which swept westward across the South China Sea from the Philippines, where officials reported at least 76 storm-related deaths after it hit the archipelago last week.
On Sunday, Vietnamese officials said 10 were killed, but the reported drownings of four people in Nghe An province were later deemed to have happened before the typhoon struck.
Monday's government report said more than 5,000 houses were washed away, 166,000 damaged and 19 vessels sunk by Typhoon Xangsane, which means "elephant" in the Lao language. The storm weakened and moved westward across Laos and into Thailand.
Heavy rains from the typhoon in the Central Highlands coffee growing area triggered landslides in Kontum province on the border with Laos but did not hit robusta trees, officials said.
Danang and the nearby UNESCO-heritage town of Hoi An suffered most after the typhoon landed at about 9 a.m. (0200 GMT) on Sunday. There was no immediate estimate of damage costs.
A staff member of the Victoria Hoi An Beach Resort & Spa said by telephone that the hotel was likely to be closed for several days. Hoi An was scheduled to a host a meeting of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum tourism ministers in two weeks' time. "Hoi An town has suffered big damage and is submerged in water," the hotel employee said.
In the days before the typhoon arrived, Vietnamese authorities evacuated hundreds of thousands of people in the region to safer areas and fishing vessels were called in. (Reporting )
By Nguyen Van Vinh & Nguyen Nhat Lam - Reuters - October 2, 2006.
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