A million head for the hills as UK backpackers brace for typhoon
A MILLION people were last night rushing to find higher ground as Vietnam – a favourite of British backpackers – braced itself for a deadly tropical storm.
Typhoon Tembin, with winds of 90mph, has claimed almost 200 lives after tearing across the Philippines, causing landslides and flash floods.
Last night, it was expected to reach Vietnam’s Mekong Delta region, south of Ho Chi Minh City. With many homes made from tin sheets and wooden panels, thousands of residents rushed to the safety of higher ground.
Authorities in 15 provinces and cities were last night organising the removal of more than a million people.
British travellers in the area were urged to heed local advice. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: ‘ Tropical storm Tembin is expected to strengthen into a typhoon and bring strong tides and winds to southern Vietnam. You should observe local guidance and warnings.’
Tembin will be the 16th major storm to hit Vietnam this year. They have left 390 people dead or missing, according to official figures.
The Vietnamese government has also ordered oil rigs and vessels to be secured and warned owners of 62,000 fishing boats not to go to sea.
Meanwhile, there was anger in the Philippines that the storm’s impact may have been exacerbated by logging in mountainous areas – allowing the downhill run- off of water at much greater speeds.
Mayor Bong Edding, of Sibuco in the Zamboanga del Norte province, blamed ‘years of logging’ for a flash flood that swept away houses with more than 30 people inside. Five bodies have been recovered and a search and rescue operation was continuing. Mr Edding said: ‘The floodwaters from the mountain came down so fast and swept away people and houses. ‘It’s really sad because Christmas is just a few days away, but these things happen beyond our control.’
Arturo Simbajon, a health worker, told last night how the village of Anungan on the island of Mindanao was wiped out by a barrage of broken logs, boulders and mud that swept down a river and out to sea. He said: ‘People were watching the rising sea but did not expect the water to come from behind them.’
Rescue workers were last night struggling to reach some remote areas hit by landslides.
More than 97,000 people spent Christmas Day in 261 evacuation centres across the southern Philippines, while nearly 85,000 others were displaced.
Tembin hit the Philippines as a tropical storm but strengthened into a typhoon before moving into the South China Sea on Christmas Eve and heading towards Vietnam. Philippines officials had warned villagers in vulnerable areas to evacuate early as Tembin approached and the government was trying to find out what caused the widespread storm deaths.
But an official added that it was difficult to move people from homes shortly before Christmas.
Just before the storm hit, an inter-island ferry sank off northeastern Quezon province, killing at least five people.