Killer typhoon crashes ashore in Vietnam

Typhoon Damrey slammed ashore in Vietnam today, knocking down trees and power lines after leaving nine people dead on China’s southern Hainan island, officials said.

Damrey, the most powerful typhoon to hit northern Vietnam in a decade, made landfall in Thanh Hoa province early today, packing winds up to 63 miles per hour, said Le Van Thao of the National Meteorology Centre. Thanh Hoa is 99 miles south of Hanoi.

Nearly 300,000 people in Thanh Hoa and three surrounding provinces were evacuated from low-lying homes, schools and local government buildings before the storm hit, said provincial disaster official Tran Quang Trung.

No casualties have been reported so far, he said. Schools in coastal districts have been closed, officials said.

Roofs were blown off houses, while trees and electrical lines were downed, Trung said.

More than 25,000 soldiers have been sent to help reinforce sea dikes and evacuate people, state media reported.

Before arriving in Vietnam, Typhoon Damrey – which means elephant in the Khmer language of Cambodia – stampeded through southern China’s Hainan island and the neighbouring province of Guangdong, causing property damage that affected nearly six million people, an official Chinese website reported, quoting China’s Civil Affairs Ministry

It was the most destructive typhoon to hit southern China in more than three decades.

The storm scoured the island’s southern portion before heading out to sea toward Vietnam to the west.

One of China’s poorest regions, Hainan has in recent years marketed itself as “China’s Hawaii,” cashing in on its tropical climate, pristine beaches and the colourful cultures of hill tribes living in its mountainous centre.

Nine people in five cities on the island were confirmed dead, Xinhua reported, citing the provincial anti-disaster command centre.

While still a tropical storm in the Philippines last week, Damrey triggered rains that killed at least 18 people there.