Typhoon Bualoi leaves 13 dead, 46 injured in Vietnam

At least 13 people were killed and 46 injured as Typhoon Bualoi battered Vietnam on Monday, with accompanying strong winds and rains damaging homes, snapping power links, and flooding roads.

Bualoi weakened into a depression heading for Laos after having made landfall early on Monday, and had whipped up waves as much as eight metres (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.

"I stayed awake the whole night, fearing the door would be pulled off by strong winds," said Ho Van Quynh of Nghe An province.

Trying to protect homes

His neighbours said they spent the night trying to protect their homes after their apartment building lost power.

"I've witnessed many storms, and this is one of the strongest," said 45-year-old Nguyen Tuan Vinh.

The government evacuated more than 28,500 people before the typhoon hit, while hundreds of flights were delayed or cancelled by the closure of four airports in central provinces.

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.

No major industrial damage reported

It mentioned no major damage to industrial properties, though large factories in or near the typhoon's path included some owned by Foxconn, Formosa Plastics, Luxshare, and Vinfast.

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 hit by power blackouts.

Rainfall of 500mm (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.