Friday, November 6, 2009

Mirinae fatalities exceed 100

The typhoon Mirinae death toll has rose to 104 on Thursday night, while total property losses were estimated at over VND2,1 billion (US$120.7 million), said the Central Committee for Flood and Storm Control.

Sixteen people were reported missing while 99 people were injured, mainly in the central provinces of Phu Yen, Binh Dinh, Khanh Hoa, and Dak Lak, which were hit hardest by the typhoon on Monday.

However, the committee said in a report Friday morning that the statistics were just preliminary as many localities were still isolated due to power-outages, floods and landslides.

In the meantime, Vietnam Railways said on Thursday that at least VND50 billion ($2.8 million) was needed to repair rail sections damaged by the storm. National rail service provider said the repairs would not be completed until next Tuesday.

All train schedules to and from the central region have been temporarily suspended since the storm hit. Rescue workers and relief supplies are still being rushed to affected areas.

Before making landfall on Vietnam’s central coast, the eleventh storm to hit the East Sea this year had already crossed over Cambodia and the Philippines, where it killed a total of 29 people and forced almost 16,000 from their homes, according to AFP.

Central provinces were also lashed by typhoon Ketsana in late September. The region’s worst storm in 40 years left 163 people dead and caused VND14 trillion (US$785.85 million) in property damage.

Source: Thanh Nien, Tuoi Tre

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