HOI AN, Vietnam, Oct 1 — Millions of people were battling today to cope with the aftermath of a typhoon that cut a destructive path through parts of Southeast Asia, killing 400, as a stronger storm emerged off the Philippines.
Government reports said 101 people had died in Vietnam and 18 were missing after typhoon Ketsana swept through the country late on Tuesday, affecting about 1.4 million people and damaging or submerging more than 350,000 houses.
The typhoon left 11 dead in Cambodia, while the toll in the Philippines, where Ketsana struck last weekend, rose to 277 today.
A new storm more powerful than Ketsana gained strength and was moving east towards the Philippines on Thursday, headed for the northern part of Luzon island, forecasters said.
Typhoon Parma, with winds of 150 km per hour (100 mph) at the centre, could hit the country on Saturday and the east coast has been placed under Storm Signal 1, the lowest warning.
Initial damage from Ketsana was estimated at US$168 million (RM582 million) in Vietnam and US$101 million for the Philippines, the world’s top rice importer, where 2.5 million people were affected by flooding, with 700,000 sheltering in evacuation centres.
In Vietnam, river waters in eight coastal and central highland provinces were receding, but the national weather bureau warned of more flash floods and landslides in mountainous areas and high waters in low-lying regions.
Military rescue teams rushed medicine, food and blankets to flood victims and stranded people were airlifted from houses.
Floodwaters submerged many old houses in Hoi An, a city listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, where transport was restricted to boats.
Thailand’s Meteorological Department warned of flash floods in 17 northeastern provinces, where troops where standing by to provide humanitarian assistance. Cambodia sent police and troops on a clean-up operation in the northern province of Kompong Thom worst hit by the typhoon.
Ketsana struck far north of the Mekong Delta rice basket. Farmers in Vietnam, the world’s largest robusta coffee producer, struggled to dry beans after heavy rains battered the country’s growing area, raising quality concern.
Ketsana damaged 740 hectares of rubber and coffee in Daklak, Vietnam’s top coffee-growing province where 180,000 hectares of coffee has been planted, a government report said. — Reuters
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