Tembin: Vietnam braces for killer typhoon

APD NEWS

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Nearly a million people in southern Vietnam face evacuation from the path of a deadly typhoon sweeping in from the South China Sea.

The national disaster prevention committee said more than 70,000 people had already been moved from low-lying areas.

Typhoon Tembin killed at least 230 people and left 75,000 homeless in the Philippines.

Rescuers are searching for more than 100 people still missing.

Bridges and roads on the island of Mindanao have been destroyed or blocked by landslides. while nearly 1,000 houses were wrecked and many rice fields were washed away.

In Vietnam, the government ordered oil rigs and vessels to be secured and warned that about 62,000 fishing boats should not go out to sea, Reuters news agency reports.

"Vietnam must ensure the safety of its oil rigs and vessels," Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc was quoted as saying. "If necessary, close the oil rigs and evacuate workers."

Monday is a working day in Vietnam, unlike in the mainly Christian Philippines where storm survivors faced a miserable Christmas Day.

Saripada L Pacasum, a local disaster management expert in the province of Lanao del Sur, told the BBC that although warnings had been given, people were surprised by the strength of the storm.

"We frequently get this kind of weather, but this one is quite different - it's a lot stronger," he said.

"So far as my experience [goes] this is the strongest we've experienced. And then the water rose up very quickly."

(BBC)