At least 50 dead after Vietnam is ‘bombarded’ by tropical storm
Tropical Storm Durian, believed to have claimed the lives of more than 1,000 people in the Philippines, blew tin sheets off houses in Vietnam and caused the collapse of homes in Ba Ria Vung Tau province, some 78 miles southeast of Ho Chi Minh City, that left 23 dead, said Pham Nhat Quang, an official from the provincial military command.
“The areas where the eye of the storm passed through looked like they were just bombarded,” said Nguyen Van Tu, a local official in Ben Tre province, where 17 people were killed, over 4,000 houses were destroyed and 26,000 others damaged.
Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ordered stepped-up recovery efforts as she consoled the families of those killed in mudslides set loose by the powerful typhoon. She also visited Guinobatan, one of the worst-hit areas of Albay province, where entire villages disappeared under tons of mud and volcanic debris that cascaded down the slopes of the Mayon volcano last Thursday.
At its height, with 165mph winds and a five-hour deluge, the storm dislodged tons of debris from the volcano’s slopes. Walls of mud and boulders destroyed nearly every standing structure in their path.
Official figures showed 526 dead, 1,000 injured and 740 missing. Richard Gordon, head of the Philippines national Red Cross, said he believed more than 1,000 died.
Weather forecasters said the storm was expected to weaken further as it moved into the Gulf of Thailand.
