by Vu Kim Chung
21-11-2001
After leaving a trail of death and destruction in the Philippines, Typhoon Lingling hit the central coast of Vietnam on November 12, 2001, killing as many as 20 people. The tropical storm centre passed through Phu Yen province. The typhoon injured 77 people, unroofed and pulled down thousands of houses and schools, sank almost 50 boats, and ruined thousands of hectares of rice and subsidiary food crops in central coastal Khanh Hoa, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, and Phu Yen provices as well as Central Highlands Dak Lak province. This was the eighth storm to hit Vietnam in 2001.
At 8am of November 12, the wind force was measured at nine to ten grade on the Beaufort scale, 75 to 102 kilometres per hour. The storm directly affected provinces from Quang Ngai to Phu Yen and the northern part of the Central Highlands region. Medium to heavy rains poured in the provinces from Quang Tri to Khanh Hoa.
At least 16 people had died as of November 12, as winds of up to 120km/h (75mph) uprooted trees and knocked down many houses in Vietnam. Eight people were reported dead in Phu Yen province, and a 16-year old boy was electrocuted after the typhoon downed powerlines in Quang Ngai province. A three-year old child was killed when a house collapsed in Binh Dinh, as the strongest storm to hit Vietnam in 15 years caused chaos.
Disaster management officials said the typhoon flattened 2,456 houses -- homes to more than 12,000 people -- and damaged 3,281 others. At least 167 docked fishing vessels were damaged or sunk. At total of 76 people were reported injured.
Meteorologists said the typhoon weakened to a tropical low pressure system after making landfall but torrential rain swelled some rivers to danger levels, prompting the evacuation of hundreds of families. Officials in Binh Dinh province said thousands of trees had been uprooted and 74 fishing boats damaged or sunk.
More than 200 people were killed when Lingling swept across the Philippines, triggering flash floods and mudslides. The tropical storm intensified into a typhoon as it left the Philippines and headed over the South China Sea toward Vietnam, meteorologists said. Vulnerable areas were evacuated, fishing boats were ordered back to port and the army and police were placed on high alert.
Phu Yen province was hardest hit with 11 deaths and 29 injured people. It was followed by Binh Dinh and Quang Ngai with three and one deaths, respectively. Total material losses were estimated at VND 30 billion (US $2 million) in Phu Yen province and at VND 15 billion (US $1 million) in Quang Ngai province.
Western direction
The typhoon made landfall in the central provinces of Binh Dinh and Phu Yen. A national weather centre report said Force 10 winds and torrential rains were hitting seven provinces. Truong Ngoc Nhi, deputy director of Quang Ngai disaster committee, told state radio: "The situation is very bad, many trees have fallen and many houses have collapsed. The typhoon's strength is beyond our capacity to fight it." Torrential rains had flooded a national highway in Thua Thien-Hue province.
Flash floods and landslides in central Vietnam in 1999 killed more than 730 people. In September, torrential rains and floods killed at least 44 people in eight central Provinces. Further south in the rice-growing Mekong Delta, floods killed at least 366 people, 286 of them children, since August.
Young volunteers in Da Nang central city helped move 60 riverside households to safer places. The city authorities deployed forces and means of transport to be ready for rescue activities. The city also prepared food, foodstuffs and other necessities to provide to the locals for one month.
Quang Nam authorities held a meeting on November 11 to carry out measures to control the effects of the typhoon. Local people in coastal and riverside areas were evacuated to safe places.
The Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Control of Quang Ngai province helped 100 ships and boats off sea cruises into safe places. The local armed forces prepared means of transport, materials and arranged teams to work a round-the-clock to stand ready for the storm.
Binh Dinh province worked out measures to minimise consequences caused by the typhoon such as opening a sluice gate for water drainage, evacuating people in flood-prone areas and giving signals to ships and boats, so that they could find a safe place to drop anchor. Preparations were made to deal with the typhoon by other central provinces of Khanh Hoa, Thua Thien- Hue, Quang Tri and Phu Yen in a bid to minimise the losses caused by Lingling storm.
Efforts made to overcome typhoon aftermath
Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development Le Huy Ngo led a delegation to pay an inspection tour to two storm-hit central provinces of Phu Yen and Binh Dinh on November 12 and 13. While in Phu Yen, Minister Ngo told the provincial authorities that the government would grant VND 5 billion as an initial support to storm victims.
The hardest hit was Phu Yen province where 15 people were killed and 35 others were injured. The storm also pulled down 1,183 houses and damaged 8,600 others. The typhoon also heavily damaged 500 hectares of shrimp farms, sank 34 boats and eroded 7,000 metres of land. The total losses to the province were estimated at VND 300 billion. The Vietnam Fatherland Front sent a message of sympathy on November 13 to storm-affected people in Phu Yen, Binh Dinh and Quang Ngai. The Front also granted VND 280 million to three above-mentioned provinces to help the local people overcome the storm aftermath.
The Vietnam Red Cross Society provided VND 100 million to provinces of Phu Yen, Binh Dinh, Quang Ngai and Dak Lak. Hanoi's Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union launched a donation campaign on November 13 to raise money for storm victims in the centre. VND 3 million has been collected in the first day. Hai Duong province donated VND 500 million to storm-ravaged provinces.
Floods in Mekong delta claim 385 lives
Seasonal floods in the Mekong delta killed 385 people including 302 children as of November 13. The number increased by 19 people as compared with the November 11 figure.