VietNamNet Bridge – Typhoon Pabuk passed Taiwan and entered the East Sea yesterday morning, becoming the third tropical storm of the year to threaten Vietnam, said the National Centre for Hydrometeorological Forecasting.

Although the storm calmed on its way through Taiwan, at its strongest the wind speed reached between 103 and 117 km per hour and wind gusts above 117 km per hour.

At 10am yesterday, the typhoon was measured at 22.4 degrees north latitude and 118.0 degrees west longitude, about 220 km south east off the coast of China's province of Guangdong.

The centre forecast that in the next 24 hours, typhoon Pabuk, named after a type of big fresh water fish in Laos, would move in a westerly direction at speeds of 25-30km per hour.

It would cause strong winds and rough sea in the north of the East Sea.

However, in the next 48 hours, the storm was expected to calm into a low pressure system located in Guangdong.

Storm death toll

The total death toll caused by Tropical Storm No 2 has reached 24, 13 higher than yesterday, said the Viet Nam Department of Dike Management, Flood and Storm Control.

This number excluded six deaths caused by lightning and electric shocks in the central province of Ha Tinh and Nghe An.

The Central Highlands province of Dak Lak suffered the highest number of casualties, with 11. Lam Dong, Phu Yen, Dak Nong, Ha Tinh and Quang Binh provinces also reported their death tolls.

According to the department, nine people were still missing, all of them from Dak Lak Province. Statistics to date revealed 270 houses collapsed and were washed away, 191 transport and irrigation works damaged and about 66.700ha of crops were waterlogged.

In Quang Binh and Ha Tinh Province, the water levels in major rivers exceeded the highest recorded since 1993. The Gianh River in Quang Binh reached its peak of 9.34m, exceeding the third warning level by 3.47m.

About 25 communes in Quang Binh were between 1m and 3m under water and 40,000 households or 125,000 inhabitants were affected by the floods, according to the department.

Head of the provincial Department of Dike Management, Flood and Storm Control Nguyen Ngoc Giai, said inhabitants living along Gianh River, mostly in the Quang Trach, Tuyen Hoa and Minh Hoa provinces had temporarily stayed on roofs of houses and gathered in few high buildings to escape the water.

Local authorities, with support from the army and police troops, continued with rescue efforts.

(Source: Viet Nam News)