At least 27 dead as Typhoon Damrey hits Vietnam

World
Europe

The death toll rose to at least 27 on Sunday from the typhoon that pummelled central and southern Vietnam just days before the country is due to host the APEC meetings.

Damrey made a landfall at 4 a.m. local time (2100 GMT on Friday) near the city of Nha Trang with winds gusting at up to 90 kmph (56 mph) and swept through Vietnam's central highlands region.

Vietnam's Steering Committee for Disaster Prevention said 27 people were now counted dead and 22 were missing. It also said 626 houses had collapsed entirely. More than 30,000 people have been evacuated.

Heavy rain and high winds lashed the coastal strip on
Sunday. Flooding led to a 30 km (19 miles) tailback on Vietnam' main north-south highway in Thua Thien Hue province

The roof of a building is damaged during a storm in Ho Chi Minh City, as Typhoon Damrey descends on southern Vietnam, in this still image taken from social media video, November 4, 2017. /Reuters Photo

The heaviest impact of the typhoon was near the city of Nha Trang, which is around 500 km (310 miles) south of the coastal city of Da Nang, where the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit is taking place this week.

Some 10,000 delegates, including leaders of APEC member economies, over 2,000 leading corporate executives and nearly 3,000 reporters are expected to attend the APEC week slated for Nov. 6-11.

2772km

Source(s): Reuters ,Xinhua News Agency