Soldiers help villagers to reinforce sea dykes in the central Ha Tinh province in Vietnam on Sunday, Oct. 1, 2006. Tropical Storm Xangsane, downgraded from a typhoon just before it hit Vietnam, barreled across central Vietnam on Sunday, leaving at least two people dead, injuring about 80 more and damaging thousands of homes, officials said.
(AP Photo/VNA)
Vietnam's typhoon death toll hits 41
HANOI, Vietnam --A powerful typhoon that slammed into Vietnam's central coast over the weekend killed at least 41 people and forced tens of thousands from their homes, disaster officials said Tuesday.
Typhoon Xangsane hit the port city of Danang especially hard. Twenty-six people were killed in Danang, most when their homes collapsed, city disaster official Huynh Van Thang said.
The toll could rise as reports of casualties were still coming in from districts where communications were poor.
In neighboring province of Quang Nam, 12 people were killed, deputy provincial governor Nguyen Ngoc Quang said Tuesday.
Two people were killed and another was still missing in Quang Tri province, and another was killed in Quang Binh province, according to the National Floods and Storms Control Committee.
Before wreaking havoc in Vietnam, Xangsane struck the Philippines late last week, killing at least 78 people and leaving 69 missing.
In Vietnam, many in hard-hit areas found their homes demolished, while others discovered they still had foundations upon which to rebuild. Virtually everyone along the coast from Danang to the ancient city of Hoi An will have some rebuilding to do.
"When I returned home, there was nothing left," Pham Thi Thanh of Son Tra District in Danang said Monday. "Luckily, all my four family members are safe."
Soldiers were mobilized to help villagers clean up and repair their homes, officials said.
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