Flooding kills 21 as central Vietnam braces for typhoon

By Bennett Murray

HANOI, Vietnam (AA) – Central Vietnam can expect more flood-related deaths as Typhoon Sarika approaches the disaster area, authorities warned Sunday.

With Sarika approaching the coast, the storms are “posing a very complicated situation”, said disaster prevention minister Nguyen Xuan Cuong according to a Sunday statement.

A tropical depression that began Thursday has killed at least 21 people as torrential rainfall battered Quang Binh and Thua Thien-Hue provinces, according to a report from the National Steering Committee for Disaster Prevention and Control.

More than 100,000 homes were damaged, it said.

The storm, which hit a narrow stretch of land between Laos and the South China Sea, brought transit to a standstill in one of the country’s most crucial north-south transportation corridors.

Dozens of train schedules were disrupted, while thousands of trucks reportedly languished on the road to avoid the floods.

With cleanup still underway, the Central Steering Committee for Disaster Prevention warned all People’s Committees in the affected province to get ready for evacuations as Sarika approaches.

Typhoon Sarika is en route to Vietnam from the Philippines, where it left at least two dead.