BY OSABUOHIEN VIVIAN ROSE
Typhoon Bualoi ravaged through Vietnam’s coast on Monday, killing at least 13 people leaving at least 46 injured, the government said, while accompanying strong winds and rains damaged homes, snapped power links and flooded roads.
Bualoi weakened into a depression heading for Laos after having made landfall early on Monday, and had whipped up waves as much as 8 m (26 ft) high as it moved along the northern central coast, the national weather agency said.
Among the missing are fishermen whose boats were washed away off the province of Quang Tri, while another fishing boat lost contact, the government’s disaster management agency said.
Strong winds killed nine people and injured seven in the province of Ninh Binh, the Vietnam News Agency said.
One person died in floodwaters in Hue city, and a falling tree killed another in Thanh Hoa province, the disaster management agency said.
Bualoi has damaged more than 44,000 homes, inundated nearly 6,000 hectares (14,800 acres) of rice and other crops, and cut access to several areas, the government said.
It mentioned no major damage to industrial properties, though large factories in or near the typhoon’s path included some owned by Foxconn (2354.TW), Formosa Plastics (1301.TW), Luxshare (002475.SZ), and Vinfast (VFS.O).
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh ordered the defence and public security ministries to urgently send troops and policemen to help tackle the storm’s aftermath.
The cyclone has triggered heavy rains across most of Vietnam since Saturday, prompting authorities to warn of a high risk of severe floods and landslides.
Water rose to alarming levels in rivers and reservoirs in the provinces of Nghe An, Ha Tinh and Thanh Hoa, the government said, with tens of thousands of families also affected by power cuts.
Rainfall of 500 mm (20 inches) was forecast in several areas over the period from Sunday night through Tuesday, weather authorities said.
With a long coastline facing the South China Sea, Vietnam is prone to typhoons that often form east of the Philippines, where Bualoi killed at least 10 people last week, Reuters reported.
