Sunday, October 01, 2006
Rush for refuge as storm looms
Wow, this sounds really bad...
Sunday Tasmanian (Australia)
October 1, 2006 Sunday
SECTION: WORLD; Pg. 20
LENGTH: 268 words
HEADLINE: Rush for refuge as storm looms
AP
BODY:
VIETNAM began evacuating more than 180,000 people from its central coast
as powerful Typhoon Xangsane approached from the Philippines, where it
left at least 63 people dead and about 70 missing, officials said
yesterday.
''The evacuation, the biggest ever in central Vietnam, must be completed
before 5pm Saturday,'' said Van Phu Chinh, head of the regional Flood
and Storm Control Department in Danang.
The evacuees were from nine central provinces that could be affected by
the typhoon, he said.
About 522 fishing boats with nearly 4800 fishermen on board were still
out at sea, he said.
In Danang, soldiers helped fishermen who had returned to shore to move
their boats to higher land yesterday.
People streamed out of coastal communities, boarding buses and
motorcycles to seek shelter inland in schools and government buildings.
Xangsane, with winds of 120km/h and gusts of up to 150 km/h, was
expected to make landfall in central Vietnam early today.
In the Philippines, at least 63 people were killed by flash floods,
landslides and falling debris, officials said yesterday.
About 70 others were missing, the Office of Civil Defence said, adding
that close to 40,000 people were forced to flee their homes in
metropolitan Manila and 15 northern and central provinces.
Electricity was restored to about 60 per cent of the main Philippine
island of Luzon, which suffered a blackout at the height of the typhoon
on Thursday, the state-run National Transmission Corp said.
Authorities said damage to infrastructure and agricultural crops and
livestock had topped 365 million pesos ($A9.6 million) and was likely to
rise.
