Typhoon And Landslides Leave 35 Dead, Dozens Missing In Vietnam

More than 700 communities were without power, while infrastructure, crops and safe drinking water supplies had been damaged or destroyed, says the Red Cross

HANOI

A typhoon that officials said was the most powerful to hit Vietnam in 20 years blew away from the country on Thursday after setting off landslides, sinking boats, and knocking out power to at least 1.7 million people. At least 35 people were killed and more than 50 were missing, state media said.

The immediate focus for rescuers was on three villages in the country’s central region where landslides killed at least 19 people and are suspected of burying more than 40 others in thick mud and debris.

“We are heartbroken by the more tragic loss of life as this typhoon has brought further misery and hardships to hundreds of thousands of people in central Vietnam,” said Vietnam Red Cross Society president Nguyen Thi Xuan Thu.

More than 700 communities were without power, while infrastructure, crops, and safe drinking water supplies had been damaged or destroyed, the Red Cross added.