Typhoon Haiyan kills 13 in Vietnam

At least 13 people were killed and 81 others injured as Typhoon Haiyan, packing winds about 115 kmph, ripped through Vietnam late Sunday and early Monday, rescue officials said.

Of the victims, four were in Quang Nam province, two in Thua Thien-Hue and Quang Ngai each, and one in Ha Tinh and Quang Binh provinces each. The rest of the victims were from other areas, Xinhua reported.

Officials of the National Committee for Search and Rescue said most of the victims were reinforcing their houses or trimming trees when Haiyan hit their locations.

After running along Vietnam's central region, Haiyan slammed the northern Quang Ninh and Hai Phong provinces, with its centre on Quang Ninh province, around 5 a.m. Monday.

The storm packed winds up to 117 kph, the Vietnam National Centre for Hydro- Meteorological Forecasting (NCHMF) reported.

The typhoon forced evacuation of 500,000 people in central provinces.

Many streets in Quang Ninh province's Ha Long city have been submerged in 0.5 metre of floodwater due to the rise of the sea level caused by the storm. Many trees were uprooted and houses damaged across the province.

In Van Don district anchored ships were lashed by powerful winds and sank. The typhoon also slammed the province's Mong Cai town, which borders China, with winds of speeds between 62 to 88 kmph.

The typhoon caused heavy rain in northeastern provinces with rainfall measuring 370 mm in Mau Son (Lang Son province), 161 mm in Quang Ha (Quang Ninh province) and 149 mm in Bach Long Vi (Hai Phong city).

In capital Hanoi, 12 power lines were broken Sunday night, but were repaired Monday morning.

The Electricity of Vietnam Monday said it will mobilise all of its human resource to repair the power grid in the typhoon-hit areas as soon as possible.