3 October 2006 - Typhoon death toll nears 250 in Veitnam, Philippines
The death toll from Typhoon Xangsane in the Philippines and Vietnam has neared 250 with dozens more still missing, as
officials warned flash floods and landslides could still claim more lives.
At least 207 people have been killed in the Philippines, which was battered by the storm last week before it barreled
into the central coast of Vietnam, where at least 42 people have lost their lives since Sunday.
Xangsane unleashed heavy rains and strong winds that left tens of millions of people without power in the Philippines
and forced the evacuation of hundreds of thousands in both countries.
In the Philippines, as rescuers raced to reach remote areas and workmen cleared trees, broken power poles and debris
from the streets of Manila, capital area residents tried to salvage keepsakes from their destroyed homes.
"We jumped over the wall and into the adjoining property to save our child," bus conductor Rogelio Dayapulit,
24, told AFP in the town of Antipolo, on the eastern outskirts of Manila, as he trawled through the ruins of his
house.
Flash floods hit the area overnight, washing 75 homes into a nearby creek that burst its banks after two hours of
torrential rain. A flood and landslide alert was issued for the northern and central Philippines.
The industrial belt south of Manila bore the brunt of the typhoon -- the strongest to hit the capital in a decade --
with at least 155 people killed in six provinces, authorities said.
At least 23 people were killed in the central Philippines when a bus was swept off a bridge, and 29 other
typhoon-related deaths were recorded elsewhere across the country, the civil defense office and local authorities
said.
Xangsane displaced nearly two million people in the Philippines -- 170,000 of whom were still living in evacuation
centers -- and left more than 40 million people in the dark for days.
After slamming into the Philippines, Xangsane -- which means "elephant" in the Lao language -- headed across
the South China Sea to Vietnam, where it killed at least 42 people. One person was also killed in southern China.
The central industrial city of Danang was hardest-hit, with 26 people killed. Sixteen others were killed in neighboring
provinces, officials said.
"We are still counting the toll and material losses," said an official at the Danang-based regional committee
on flood and storm control.
"We are receiving conflicting figures and the death toll might be higher," he said, asking not to be named.
A doctor in Danang said the city's central hospital was packed with patients with all kinds of injuries, many of
whom were hurt when strong winds ripped roofs off homes or caused houses to collapse.
Hundreds of thousands of houses were wrecked as the powerful storm made landfall and authorities said losses could total
almost five trillion dong (300 million dollars).
"People's life and production have slowly started to resume. We are cleaning up the mess," said Vo Xuan
Huyen, chairman of the people's committee of Ly Son island in central Quang Ngai province.
But some areas remained under water, and Vietnamese officials have warned of the danger of floods and landslides in the
coming days.
With clean-up and rescue efforts still in full swing in both countries, the Philippines braced for the possible arrival
of Tropical Storm Bebinca, which was packing maximum sustained winds of 85 kilometers (53 miles) an hour.
The storm was located east of the Philippines over the Pacific and expected to turn north toward Japan, but
meteorologists were carefully tracking its position and monitoring for possible impact in the Philippines.
Source: http://ph.yahoo.com/
~~~~~
Is this the worst hit yet in the Philippines this 2006?
