21 dead, dozens missing in Vietnam after typhoon brings destruction
QUANG NAM, Vietnam — Twenty-one people have been killed and dozens more were feared dead on Thursday after a typhoon tore through central Vietnam, triggering landslides and causing some of the worst destruction seen in years.
Typhoon Molave hit villages as it made landfall a day earlier, tearing roofs from homes and bringing heavy rain to an area already badly affected by weeks of flooding.
Hundreds of rescuers were desperately trying to reach survivors after several landslides, but many were hampered by thick mud and fallen trees.
"My two daughters were pulled out from the mud by neighbours," Ho Thi Ha told AFP as one of her girls, four-year-old My, screamed in pain from an injured leg.
"But my father is dead and now I have nothing. Everything is buried in the mud," the 28-year-old said.
Nineteen bodies had so far been pulled from the mud across three hard-hit villages in Quang Nam province, state media reported. Authorities said another 45 people were believed to be buried in the area.
Soldiers were among a search team using heavy bulldozers and excavators to better access two of the villages.
Two people were killed earlier as they tried to protect their homes from the typhoon, Vietnam's fourth storm this month.
Authorities relocated around 375,000 people to safety, cancelled hundreds of flights and closed schools and beaches.
It made landfall south of Danang packing winds of up to 145 kilometres per hour (85 miles per hour), before weakening to a tropical depression on Thursday.
Nearly 90,000 homes had their roofs blown off and many were destroyed in the storm, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
Communities 'torn apart'
Twenty-six fishermen were also still missing on Thursday, with helicopters and navy ships deployed to look for their two vessels that disappeared before the storm made landfall.
The typhoon, which also killed 16 people and destroyed homes in the Philippines, came on the back of weeks of flooding and landslides that claimed 130 lives.
"We are heartbroken by more tragic loss of life as this typhoon has brought further misery and hardships to hundreds of thousands of people in central Vietnam," said Vietnam Red Cross Society president Nguyen Thi Xuan Thu.
More than 700 communities were without power, while infrastructure, crops and safe drinking water supplies had been damaged or destroyed, the Red Cross added.
Hoang Phuong Thao, executive director of ActionAid Vietnam, said the typhoon had brought more death and destruction to communities already "torn apart by the worst flooding we've seen in decades".
Vietnam is prone to natural disasters in the rainy season between June and November, with central coastal provinces commonly impacted, but the storms have noticeably worsened in recent years.
The Red Cross said the storms were "yet another example of the devastating impact of climate change".
Follow this thread for updates on tropical cyclone Quinta.
Typhoon Quinta is forecast to exit the Philippine Area of Responsibility on Tuesday morning and is seen to intensfy over the West Philippine Sea and reach peak intensity in the next 24 hours, PAGASA says in its early morning bulletin on Tuesday.
The typhoon is expected to bring moderate to heavy rains over Western Visayas, Occidental Mindoro, Palawan including Calamian, Cuyo, and Kalayaan Islands, Aurora, Isabela, Cagayan.
Light to moderate with at times heavy rains over Zamboanga Peninsula, Bangsamoro, Northern Mindanao, Caraga, and the rest of Luzon and Visayas, PAGASA says.
Typhoon Quinta continues to intensify as it moves away from the Philippines, state weather bureau PAGASA says Monday night.
The typhoon is forecast to exit the Philippine Area of Responsibility Tuesday morning and reach its peak intensity within 24 hours.
At 10 p.m., Quinta was located 420 km west of Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro with maximum winds of 140 kph and gusts of 170 kph. It is moving westward at 25 kph.
Signal No. 1 is still hoisted over Lubang Island, Calamian Islands and Kalayaan Islands.
Typhoon Quinta slightly intensifies as it moves towards the western boundary of the West Philippine Sea.
It is forecast to reach its peak intensity in the next 24 hours but would exit the country Wednesday morning, state weather bureau PAGASA says.
At 4 p.m., Quinta was located 310 km west of Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro with maximum sustained winds of 130 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 160 kph.
'Quinta' was 125 kilometers north of Coron, Palawan as of 10 a.m., PAGASA says, or 120 km west southwest of Calapan City, Mindoro.
The typhoon is moving west at 25 km/h and has maximum sustained winds of 125 km/h near the center and gustiness of up to 150 km/h.
Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 3:
Northwestern portion of Occidental Mindoro (Abra de Ilog, Mamburao, Paluan), including Lubang Island
TCWS No. 2 :
Oriental Mindoro
The rest of Occidental Mindoro
Calamian Islands
Batangas
Visayas
Extreme northern portion of Antique (Caluya)
TCWS No. 1:
- Southern portion of Zambales (San Antonio, Castillejos, Subic, Olongapo City)
- Bataan
- Southwestern portion of Pampanga (Floridablanca, Lubao, Sasmuan, Masantol)
- Southwestern portion of Bulacan (Hagonoy, Paombong, Malolos City, Bulacan, Obando, Meycauayan City)
- Metro Manila
- Rizal
- Cavite
- Laguna
- Quezon including Polillo Islands
- Marinduque
- Romblon
- Northern portion of Palawan (El Nido, Taytay), including Cuyo Islands
Visayas
- Aklan and the rest of the northern portion of Antique (Laua-An, Barbaza, Tibiao, Culasi, Sebaste, Pandan, Libertad)
'Quinta' made a fifth landfall over Pola, Oriental Mindoro early Monday morning as it traverses the island and is expected to emerge over the West Philippine Sea.
As of 4 a.m., 'Quinta' was in the vicinity of Socorro, Oriental Mindoro as of 4 a.m., according to an early morning PAGASA bulletin. The typhoon is moving west at 25 kilometers per hour and has maximum sustained winds of 125 km/h near the center and gustiness of up to 180 km/h.
Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 3 is up over the following areas:
- The southern portion of Quezon (Mulanay, San Francisco, Catanauan, General Luna, Macalelon, Pitogo, Unisan, Agdangan, Padre Burgos, Pagbilao, Lucena City, Sariaya, Candelaria, Tiaong, San Antonio, Dolores, Tayabas City)
- Southern portion of Batangas (Lian, Tuy, San Juan, Rosario, Padre Garcia, Lipa City, Cuenca, San Jose, Ibaan, Taysan, Lobo, Batangas City, Mabini, Tingloy, San Pascual, Bauan, Alitagtag, San Luis, Taal, Santa Teresita, Calatagan, Balayan, Calaca, Lemery, Agoncillo, San Nicolas, Mataas Na Kahoy)
- Northern portion of Romblon (Concepcion, Banton, Corcuera, Romblon, San Agustin, Calatrava, San Andres, Odiongan, Santa Maria)
- Marinduque
- Northern and central portion of Oriental Mindoro (Oriental Mindoro (Mansalay, Roxas, Bongabong, Bansud, Gloria, Pinamalayan, Pola, Socorro, Victoria, Naujan, Calapan City, Baco, San Teodoro, Puerto Galera)
- Northern and central portion of Occidental Mindoro (San Jose, Rizal, Calintaan, Sablayan, Santa Cruz, Mamburao, Paluan, Abra de Ilog) including Lubang Island
Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 2 areas:
- Camarines Norte
- Western portion of Camarines Sur (Siruma, Tinambac, Calabanga, Naga City, Pili, Bula, Balatan, Minalabac, Milaor, Bombon, Magarao, Canaman, Camaligan, Gainza, San Fernando, Pasacao, Pamplona, Cabusao, Libmanan, Sipocot, Lupi, Ragay, Del Gallego)
- Burias Island
- Rest of Quezon, including Polillo Islands
- Laguna
- Rest of Batangas
- Cavite, Rizal
- Metro Manila
- Southern portion of Bulacan (Norzagaray, Angat, San Rafael, Baliuag, Pulilan, Calumpit, Hagonoy, Paombong, Malolos City, Plaridel, Bustos, San Jose del Monte City, Santa Maria, Pandi, Guiguinto, Balagtas, Bulacan, Bocaue, Meycauayan City, Obando, Marilao)
- Southern portion of Pampanga (Lubao, Sasmuan, Macabebe, Masantol, Minalin, Apalit), Bataan
- Rest of Romblon
- Rest of Oriental Mindoro
- Rest of Occidental Mindoro, and Calamian Islands
Visayas
- Extreme northern portion of Antique (Caluya)
Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 1 areas:
- Catanduanes
- Rest of Camarines Sur
- Albay
- Western portion of Sorsogon (Donsol, Pilar, Castilla, Sorsogon City, Casiguran, Juban, Magallanes, Bulan, Irosin)
- Northern portion of mainland Masbate (Uson, Mobo, Masbate City, Baleno, Aroroy, Balud, Mandaon, Milagros) including Ticao Island
- Southern portion of Aurora (Dingalan, San Luis)
- Southern portion of Nueva Ecija (Gabaldon, Laur, Palayan City, General Tinio, Cabanatuan City, Aliaga, Zaragoza, Jaen, San Antonio, Santa Rosa, Peñaranda, Gapan City, San Leonardo, San Isidro, Cabiao)
- Southern portion of Tarlac (La Paz, Tarlac City, San Jose, Concepcion, Capas, Bamban)
- Rest of Bulacan
- Rest of Pampanga
- Central and southern portion of Zambales (Iba, Botolan, Cabangan, San Felipe, San Narciso, San Antonio, San Marcelino, Castillejos, Subic, Olongapo City)
- Northern portion of Palawan (El Nido, Taytay) including Cuyo Islands
Visayas
- The rest of the northern portion of Antique (Laua-An, Barbaza, Tibiao, Culasi, Sebaste, Pandan, Libertad)
- Aklan
- Capiz
- Northern portion of Iloilo (Lemery, Sara, San Dionisio, Batad, Estancia, Carles, Balasan)
- Latest
- Trending
