HÀ NỘI — Typhoon Damrey is reported to have killed 69 people in central and south-central localities, 20 people more than reported on Monday. Most of those killed - 27 - were from Khánh Hòa Province.

The storm has also reportedly left 30 people missing. The typhoon wrecked 1,484 houses, blew away the roofs of 119,222 houses and destroyed about 22,000ha of crops in the provinces.

Local administration of affected provinces have mobilised all sources to help residents resume their daily lives, following instructions from Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc.

Phúc asked the local administrations in affected provinces and relevant ministries to quickly fix the damage by the typhoon, especially in Đà Nẵng City and Quảng Nam Province, where the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit is being held.

Phúc asked the Ministry of Finance to give VNĐ1 trillion (US$44 million) to help affected localities remedy the damage.

The electricity sector of Khánh Hòa Province is working hard to finish repairing two 110-kV power stations. The local administration has also made plans to repair sites hit by landslides in Đá Bàn and Tiên Du reservoirs.

In Đà Nẵng, police in Hòa Vang District put warning signs on flooded roads to guide local people. The People’s Committee of the district also asked the city administration to send 1,000 litres of Chloramine B to disinfect water sources.

In Quảng Nam, Quảng Ngãi and Thừa Thiên Huế,  power was cut off to ensure safety for those in flooded areas.

In Hội An city, water in the streets is receding. However, water in some streets such as Hoàng Diệu, Trần Hưng Đạo, Bạch Đằng, Nguyễn Duy Hiệu is still 50cm high. Residents have not been able to go back to their houses to clean up.

Information about a dam on Tranh river No.2 hydropower plant in Quảng Nam Province being broken has proved to be a rumour.

Colonel Nguyễn Đức Dũng, deputy director of the provincial Police Department rejected the information.

On Monday,  news about the dam’s breakage worried locals living in Bắc Trà My District. Hundreds of people evacuated to safe places.

Meanwhile, at Quy Nhơn Port in Bình Định Province, 10 boats sank and were stranded and it is feared they may spill fuel.

Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Trần Hồng Hà yesterday warned the province to try and avoid any spills.

In Phú Yên Province, Việt Nam Railway Corporation is digging away a landslide on the train route from Hảo Sơn to Đại Lãnh running through Cả Pass. The route is expected to be re-opened tomorrow.

In central Thừa Thiên-Huế Province, continuous heavy rains worsened flooding.Water covered almost all roads connecting the districts with National Highway No.1A, which opened to traffic late Monday afternoon when water receded after two days.

According to the local Committee for Flood, Storm Prevention and Rescue, the death toll due to the flood in the province is nine, including two children swept away by a strong current while their parents were rushing to save household items.

The committee reported that 17,588 houses were inundated in the province. Strong currents also led to an intrusion of seawater at the mouth of the Thuận An sea, resulting in erosion along the 10km coastline.

River water remains at alarming levels and is expected to rise further due to heavy rainfall, forecast to continue until today.

Authorities at power reservoirs warned of more releases of water following visits by local Party Secretary Lê Trường Lưu to irrigation and power reservoirs. He asked for more water to be released to save the reservoirs from breaking.

In another movement, the National Committee for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting yesterday said that torrential rains lasting for hours hit Thừa Thiên-Huế Province yesterday morning, so, lowland areas, especially, Phú Lộc District were put on high alert of landslides. — VNS