More Than 100 Dead As Typhoon Rammasun Batters Southeast Asia
The strongest typhoon to hit southern China in four decades has moved on to ravage Vietnam, bringing the death toll to more than 100 people across three countries.
Typhoon Rammasun, or "God of Thunder" in Thai, made landfall in northern Vietnam over the weekend after pummeling the Philippines and southern China last week, with wind speeds reaching 130 miles per hour. The Philippines' National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council reported at least 95 deaths, 437 injuries, and six missing. China's Ministry of Civil Affairs reported at least 26 dead and 25 missing.
In Vietnam, the typhoon hit the Lang Son province hardest, leaving four dead out of a reported 11 casualties in the country from the storm.
"Water levels rose to the roofs of houses in many parts of Lang Son over the weekend, though the flooding has begun to subside today as the rains have eased," Nguyen Huu Chien, chief of the office of the Lang Son provincial People's Committee, told the Wall Street Journal. "We have deployed more than 5,300 soldiers, policemen, and volunteers to help affected people deal with the flood consequences."
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The typhoon, reported China's Xinhua News Agency, has also displaced many in the country. About 100,000 people have been forced to seek shelter after the destruction of 37,000 homes, with the storm causing $4.3 billion in damage. The footage below, from British broadcaster ITN, shows residents attempting to remove uprooted trees amid heavy winds.
The last typhoon to strike China with such intensity was Super-Typhoon Nora in 1973, according to the country's Meteorological Administration.
The massive winds and rains aren't over for the region: The Philippine National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council spokeswoman Mina Marasigan told AFP news agency a new typhoon, Matmo, will be heading into the area battered by Rammasun.
This article was originally published at http://www.thewire.com/global/2014/07/more-than-100-dead-as-typhoon-rammasun-batters-southeast-asia/374747/
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