Nearly 100 Vietnamese dead or missing in typhoon
Pastor Dale Morgan
Nearly 100 Vietnamese dead or missing in typhoon*
Reuters
Thursday, December 7, 2006; 12:25 AM
HANOI (Reuters) - Nearly 100 people were killed or are missing after a
typhoon hit the southern coast of Vietnam this week, damaging hundreds
of thousands of flimsy homes, a government report said on Thursday.
The national flood and storm control center said 67 people were
confirmed dead and 31 were missing in the aftermath of Typhoon Durian,
which killed hundreds in the Philippines after hitting the archipelago
last Thursday.
Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, who toured damaged areas of Ba
Ria-Vung Tau province on Wednesday, postponed trips to Singapore and
Malaysia, a government spokesman said. He said Dung would still attend a
weekend summit of 10 ASEAN members plus India, Australia and New Zealand
in the Philippines.
Durianwas Vietnam's ninth storm of the year and it damaged or destroyed
more than 212,000 homes and sank 808 fishing vessels, Thursday's
government report said.
Every year, hundreds or even thousands of people are killed in tropical
storms and typhoons that batter flimsy dwellings and fishing boats or
cause flooding and mudslides in the mostly rural Southeast Asian country
of 84 million people.
In May, hundreds of Vietnamese fishermen were lost in a typhoon named
Chanchu. In October, another typhoon, Xangsane, killed at least 70 and
destroyed or submerged hundreds of thousands of homes when it struck the
central coastal city of Danang, despite early warnings and preparations.