Typhoon Toraji aftermath: popular Vietnam beach town inundated

By Xuan Ngoc, An Phuoc   November 18, 2018 | 08:03 pm PT
Nha Trang and its surrounds are flooded, houses are wrecked as the storm causes heavy rains, landslides Sunday.
Vietnams popular beach town left in a mess after heavy rains, landslides kill 12  

Some low-lying communes on the outskirts of the popular resort town of Nha Trang in the central province of Khanh Hoa were submerged under more than one meter (over three feet) of water following a heavy downpour Sunday morning.

Officials said 13 people have been killed in Nha Trang and four others are missing. Khanh Hoa was also among the hardest hit by Typhoon Damrey, which hit early November last year and killed 106 people, including 44 in the province.

Vietnams popular beach town left in a mess after heavy rains, landslides kill 12   - 1

Local residents rescue a car that broke down.

Vietnams popular beach town left in a mess after heavy rains, landslides kill 12   - 2

A motorbike rider walks her vehicle on a flooded road.

Vietnams popular beach town left in a mess after heavy rains, landslides kill 12   - 3

The railway track running through Nha Trang and Cam Lam District was also flooded, forcing one train to halt at a station 12 kilometers from Nha Trang Station. Some 400 passengers remain stranded.

Vietnams popular beach town left in a mess after heavy rains, landslides kill 12   - 4

Seven houses were buried under mud and rocks after prolonged downpours triggered landslides in Vinh Truong Ward. Many people barely escaped with their lives.

Two people reportedly died when the wall of a pho noodle soup restaurant collapsed in the downpours Sunday.

Vietnams popular beach town left in a mess after heavy rains, landslides kill 12   - 5

Hundreds of rescue workers were dispatched to the landslides areas to look for victims possibly buried under rocks.

Vietnams popular beach town left in a mess after heavy rains, landslides kill 12   - 6

A car is seriously damaged.

Dao Cong Thien, Vice Chairman of Khanh Hoa Province, said more than 90,000 students in Nha Trang have been allowed to stay home from Monday since many schools are submerged under up to a meter of water as of Sunday morning.

Vietnams popular beach town left in a mess after heavy rains, landslides kill 12   - 7

Several houses suffered heavy damage.

Vietnams popular beach town left in a mess after heavy rains, landslides kill 12   - 8

Heavy rains also caused a landslide on the Cu Hin Pass. Traffic between Nha Trang and Cam Ranh Airport has been blocked as a result.

Domestic flights headed to Nha Trang and the nearby Da Lat in the Central Highlands Sunday were forced to land in Ho Chi Minh City due to bad weather.

The typhoon weakened into a tropical depression Sunday morning before making landfall according to the National Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting Center.

Vietnam was struck by a record 16 tropical storms last year that left 389 people dead or missing and injured 668 others, mostly in the northern and central regions. 

In the first ten months of this year natural disasters left 185 people dead or missing and injured 134 others, and caused losses of more than VND8.8 trillion ($381 million), according to the General Statistics Office.

 
 
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