Seven killed, four missing in central Vietnam typhoon

HANOI (AFP) Jun 14, 2004
Seven people were killed and four were reported missing and feared dead after a typhoon hit central Vietnam over the weekend, officials said on Monday.

Nine other people were also injured after typhoon Chanthu hit the central province of Binh Dinh on Saturday.

Torrential rains and heavy winds hit a total of five provinces, a local flood and storm control official said.

"Most of the victims were fishermen from Binh Dinh and Quang Ngai province and we are afraid that the four missing people have also been killed," he said.

He added the material losses were estimated at 6.5 million dollars. Authorities were still searching for survivors on Monday.

The storm sunk dozens of fishing boats and destroyed hundreds of houses.

Flood water over the past two days also swamped tens of thousands of hectares of rice fields and other cultivated crops.

The storm disrupted the third international arts festival in Vietnam's ancient imperial city Hue. The festival opened on Saturday but organizers said they had to cancel around 70 percent of shows over the weekend.

TERRA.WIRE