HÀ NỘI — The heavy toll exacted by typhoon Damrey continued to rise, with the number of deaths counted at 49 people yesterday.

The latest available update from the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disasters Prevention and Control also listed 27 people as missing and at least 64 others injured since Saturday, when the storm made landfall in the south-central region, its impacts spreading to the central, Central Highlands and southern regions.

It said as many as 1,358 houses in Quảng Ngãi, Khánh Hòa, Bình Định, Phú Yên, Gia Lai, Đắk Lắk, Đắk Nông and Lâm Đồng provinces had collapsed.

The roofs of 114,886 other houses were blown off by the typhoon’s strong winds. More than 20,000ha of crops and hundreds of kilometers of roads were damaged by the typhoon.

The committee also said that the bodies of five of nine people buried by a mountain landslide triggered by prolonged heavy rains in Quảng Nam Province’s Bắc Trà My District were found yesterday morning. Four others were saved.

As of noon yesterday, six people had died and six others were missing in the district.

Deputy Prime Minister Trịnh Đình Dũng visited families of the deceased victims yesterday morning to express condolences and offer assistance.

He asked local authorities to evacuate people still staying in risk-prone areas and step up the search for missing people.

He also required the province to inspect and control water flow from hydropower dams to ensure the safety of people living in downstream areas.

Several areas in and around the central province have been inundated, including Hội An and Đà Nẵng City’s Hòa Vang District. Local administrations are working hard to evacuate residents from affected areas.

Students of Hoa Mai Kindergarten, Ông Ích Dường Primary School, Trần Nhân Tông Primary School and Đặng Thai Mai Secondary School in the district were allowed to stay home because of the inundation.

More than 4,000 houses, 45ha of vegetable gardens and over 5ha of aquaculture farms in the district were inundated.

According to the Hydro-meteorology Station of Central Region, as of 4am yesterday, the water level in Vu Gia River in Quảng Nam Province reached 9.96m, 0.96m higher than the third warning level. In Cẩm Lệ River, Đà Nẵng City, the water level stood at 2.45m, 0.05 metres below the third level.

The National Centre for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting warned yesterday morning that water levels in the Vu Gia- Thu Bồn, Kôn and Đắkbla rivers were still rising.

At least seven houses collapsed in An Phú Commune, Tuy Hòa City, Phú Yên Province. Several sections of the 500m-long An Phú embankment, made of reinforced concrete, were damaged.

In Bình Định Province, where ten fishing boats with more than a 100 people on board had sunk near the Quy Nhơn Port, 88 people were rescued, 10 died and three others were listed missing as of yesterday evening.

As of yesterday noon, key routes connecting central and Central Highlands provinces had been reopened after being disrupted by the floods and landslides.

In Phú Yên Province, damaged 110kV power stations have been repaired. Central Khánh Hòa Province has repaired eight out of eleven power stations.

The National Centre for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting also warned that inundation would continue in the districts of Phú Lộc Phú Vang, Hương Trà and Huế City in Thừa Thiên Huế Province.

In Quảng Nam Province, the districts of Đại Lộc, Duy Xuyên, Điện Bàn, Nghĩa Hành, Mộ Đức, Tư Nghĩa, Châu Ổ Town, and the cities of Quảng Ngãi and Hội An would also experience continued flooding, it said.

A similar warning applies to the districts of Vân Canh and Hoài Nhơn, as well as Quy Nhơn City in Bình Định Province, the committee said.

The mountainous areas of Quảng Trị, Thừa Thiên Huế, Quảng Nam, Quảng Ngãi, Bình Định, Kon Tum, Gia Lai and Đắk Lắk provinces have been put on high alert of landslides.

After making its landfall in Việt Nam, the typhoon weakened into a tropical low-pressure system and entered Cambodia yesterday.

Cold front, high tides

Heavy rains were forecast in the central region, from Hà Tĩnh to Quảng Ngãi provinces from Monday to Wednesday due to impacts of a cold front combined with wind disturbances.

Meanwhile, many streets in HCM City were submerged in water as high as 1.65m early yesterday morning because of high tides, causing traffic jams, stalling motorbikes and flooding houses.

The inundated streets, alleys and roads included: Trần Xuân Soạn and Huỳnh Tấn Phát in District 7; Lê Văn Lương, Nguyễn Bình and Nhơn Đức-Phước Lộc in Nhà Bè District; Hồ Ngọc Lãm in Bình Trân District; and many sections of National Highway No 50 in Bình Chánh District.

Transportation and business activities in flooded areas were seriously affected, with the waters damaging a lot of furniture and other assets.

According to the Southern Hydro-Meteorological Station, the tides remain high and could reach a peak 1.64m and 1.63m this morning and evening, respectively.  — VNS