Typhoon Doksuri claims first life before making landfall in Vietnam

Ngo Van Hien, 38, was swept away trying to cross a swollen stream on Thursday morning. His body was found in the afternoon.At least one person drowned in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue on Thursday after the region was hit by heavy rainfall in the build up to Typhoon Doksuri.

Rescue forces are still looking for a three-year-old boy who was swept away while playing on a beach with his family on Wednesday afternoon.

Strong winds have also ripped the roofs of dozens of houses, while several streets have benen flooded.

Doksuri is the 10th storm to form in the South China Sea, known in Vietnam as the East Sea, this year. It was raging offshore with wind speeds of 130 kilometers per hour (84 mph/73 knots) on Friday morning and is forecast to make landfall in the afternoon.

Waves of more than 10 meters are predicted offshore, while sea levels are likely to rise two to three meters following rainfall of up to 400mm through the weekend.

Typhoon Doksuri (L) is seen raging over Vietnam's north central coast. Photo courtesy of the National Center for Hydrometeorological Forecasting

Thua Thien-Hue is the southern neighbor of Quang Tri Province, which is forecast to be among the areas hardest hit, along with Nghe An, Ha Tinh and Quang Binh.

Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung ordered the evacuation of people in high-risk areas at an emergency meeting on Thursday, saying the storm will be the strongest to hit Vietnam in 10 years.

 

 

Typhoon Doksuri claims first life before making landfall in Vietnam

Ha Tinh evacuates over 10,000 ahead of typhoon Doksuri

Officials in Ha Tinh said that by Friday morning, they had evacuated around 10,000 people to schools and other safe centers.

Its neighbor Nghe An has also sent more than 14,000 people to safe places with food and medicine for three days.

Vietnam has been directly hit by two tropical storms already this year that caused at least nine deaths. Forecasters say the country is likely to feel the impacts of around 15 storms this year.

Last year, tropical storms and flooding killed 264 people in Vietnam and caused damage worth ND40 trillion ($1.75 billion), nearly five times more than in 2015.