VietNamNet Bridge – Super-typhoon Haiyan, the 14th storm to hit Vietnam this year, killed 14 people, left 4 missing and injured 81 others by 6.30 pm of November 11, the National Committee for Search and Rescue reported.

Accidents during the process of reinforcing houses and trimming trees in response to the typhoon were the reasons of the casualties.

The border force of northern Quang Ninh Province is seeking four missing people as the result of ship sinking.

The National Committee for Search and Rescue and the National Steering Committee for Flood Prevention and Control on November 11 sent an order to the corresponding committees in the coastal provinces from Quang Binh to Ca Mau, and the ministries of Defence, Foreign Affairs, Agriculture and Rural Development and Transport, asking them to be ready for the upcoming tropical low pressure.

Super-typhoon Haiyan on early November 11 made landfall in the northern Quang Ninh and Hai Phong region, causing heavy rains and strong wind in the region.

Torrential rains of 109-137mm were recorded in northeastern provinces, especially Hai Phong and Quang Ninh.

Typhoon leaves behind disarray

Rescue teams are still searching for three crew members of a 650-tonne boat that drifted then sank in Quang Ninh Province's Bai Tu Long Bay as Typhoon Haiyan hit early yesterday morning, Nov 11.

Many electricity poles collapsed due to Typhoon Haiyan in Ha Long City, Quang Ninh Province yesterday. Rescue teams are still searching for three crew members of a 650-tonne boat that sank in the province's Bai Tu Long Bay.

Four crew members donned life jackets when the 650-tonne vessel sank, however, only one of the swimmers managed to reach the shore.

A massive blackout also occurred in the province's Ha Long City as the storm brought down an 110kV transmission line. The problem was fixed yesterday afternoon.

Another nine people in the central region were killed on Saturday while taking storm precautions, such as tying down roofs to prevent them from blowing away.

The National Centre for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting said that by 1pm yesterday, the storm had weakened and crossed the border into China's Quangxi Province. It was predicted to weaken into a tropical low-pressure system within 24 hours.

However, the latest update from the centre reveals the formation of yet another tropical low-pressure system yesterday about 760km east of Minadao Island in the southern Philippines.

Statistics from the Central Committee for Flood and Storm Control said that Typhoon Haiyan destroyed more than 34,000ha of crop in northern Thai Binh Province and uprooted 2,000 trees planted to prevent sea erosion in Nam Dinh Province.

Hundreds of local residents living near Tien Yen River face flooding as the river water levels have risen by up to four metres.

Hai Phong People's Committee chairman Do Trung Thoai said that property damage was not as serious as expected when the storm was swirling at more than 200 kilometres per hour. About 3,900 hectares of crops were reported to have been damaged.

Chairman of Ha Noi People's Committee Nguyen The Thao yesterday asked the city Education and Training Department to advise students to return to schools this morning.

The new tropical-low-pressure system is expected to gain strength and develop into a storm then head for the East Sea within three days.

The Central Committee for Flood and Storm Control has again sent an urgent message to coastal localities stretching from Quang Binh to Ca Mau to keep an eye on the storm, the 14th so far this year to hit Viet Nam.

VNA/VNS