Thousands flee floods as typhoon nears Vietnam

Tran Thi Minh Ha, AFP Google News 29 Sep 09;

HUE, Vietnam — Typhoon Ketsana was due to slam into Vietnam Tuesday after battering the Philippines but had already caused flooding and power outages, brought down trees and sent almost 170,000 people fleeing.

The coastal region braced for the typhoon's full impact after Ketsana, which was then a weaker tropical storm, killed at least 240 people and left nearly 400,000 homeless in the Philippines on the weekend.

Flooding hit parts of Hue city, the former capital listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, forcing residents to get around by small wooden and steel boats, an AFP reporter saw.

Fallen trees littered the streets and the Perfume River, which winds through the ancient Imperial City, had risen considerably, AFP observed.

"My house is now flooded to my knees," said one resident, out collecting wood from downed trees that he said he would use for cooking.

"We have enough instant noodles," he said.

In some places, water had come within 10 or 15 centimetres (four to six inches) of the country's main North-South railway line, AFP observed.

More than 1,000 passengers were stranded at Hue's train station, said Nguyen Ngoc Thien, president of the People's Committee, or communist local government, in Thua Thien-Hue province.

Thien, speaking on state television, said up to 50cm of rain had fallen.

"There were two dead and three injured in our province," he said, adding that 300 houses were damaged.

The front doors of many homes were fortified with wood, and the roofs had been sandbagged, AFP observed. Few people were on the streets.

"We are preparing to supply the evacuees with food and water for one month's supply," Thien said.

The typhoon was expected to strike Danang and the adjacent fishing province of Quang Nam about mid-afternoon, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai said on state television.

Authorities had lost contact with Ly Son, an island in the South China Sea, state TV reported.

Hoi An town, another World Heritage site, is located in Quang Nam.

In Danang, the country's fourth-largest city, government television showed trees toppled on roads and corrugated metal and other debris tossed around.

"What worries us is that the flooding could worsen because of heavy rain raising water levels in the rivers but in particular rising sea water which threatens coastal residents," said Duong Van Ngoc, vice-president of Phu Vang district in Thua Thien-Hue province.

Authorities mobilised several thousand police and military personnel with armoured cars to help residents escape the typhoon's path, said Nguyen The Hung of the national flood and storm control committee.

The agency said 168,585 people in six coastal provinces have been evacuated.

They were moved to schools, military camps and newly-built high-rise apartments, Voice of Vietnam radio reported.

The aid organisation World Vision said it had distributed noodle packs to 700 families.

State radio reported that electricity in the region was out.

Hung said most fishing vessels had returned to port in the area, and he urged residents who had not left their homes to stay indoors and avoid non-essential travel.

Vietnam Airlines on Monday said it was suspending flights to Hue and Danang.

Stormy weather in the past week has already killed 18 people in central Vietnam, including from drowning and electrocution, Hung said.