Typhoon Molave brings death and destruction to Vietnam and the Philippines.
Dozens still missing after typhoon sets off landslides
TYPHOON Molave set off landslides that killed at least 19 people and left 45 missing in central Vietnam, where ferocious winds and rain blew away roofs and knocked out power in a region of 1.7 million residents, state media said.
The casualties from the landslides yesterday brought the overall death toll from the storm to at least 35, including 12 fishermen whose boats sank on Wednesday as the typhoon approached with winds of up to 150kph.
Vietnamese officials say it is the worst typhoon to hit the country in 20 years.
At least 59 people remain missing in the landslides and at sea. The toll may rise with many regions still unable to report details of the devastation amid the stormy weather.
Rescuers dug up eight bodies yesterday morning in Tra Van village in south central Quang Nam province, where a hillside collapsed on houses.
The victims had taken shelter in the community as the typhoon
approached, Vietnam News Agency reported.
In Tra Leng village, about 45km from Tra Van, another landslide buried a community with several houses occupied by about 45 people. Four managed to escape.
Rescuers had recovered eight bodies and were trying to save 37 others, Vietnam News Agency said.
Tra Leng remained inaccessible due to damaged roads and other landslides and government disaster-response teams were using bulldozers and excavators to open up a road to bring in more rescuers and heavy equipment.
Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung travelled to the site where soldiers were clearing up a landslide with bulldozers and ordered officers to urgently bring in troops to the landslide-hit village.
Another part of a rain-soaked mountainside cascaded down in a torrent of mud in nearby Phuoc Loc district yesterday morning, trapping 11 people. Three bodies were pulled out immediately, Vietnam News Agency said.