Vietnamese villagers move a fishing boat on shore in northern Thanh Hoa province, Vietnam, Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017. Vietnam on Thursday was bracing for typhoon Doksuri, which is expected to be the most powerful tropical cyclone to hit the Southeast Asian country in several years. (Trinh Duy Hung/Vietnam News Agency via AP)
Typhoon Doksuri slammed into central Vietnam on Friday, killing four people and injuring 10 others as heavy rains and strong winds ripped off roofs and knocked over many electricity poles.
Blackouts were widespread and technicians tried to restore power. Flooding was reported in some villages.
Packing maximum sustained winds of 135 kilometers (84 miles) per hour, the typhoon made landfall in Ha Tinh province, pounding six coastal districts and destroying the roofs of 62,500 houses, disaster official Ngo Duc Hoi said.
In the neighboring province of Quang Binh, farther south, a man fell to his death when he tried to reinforce his house and an elderly man fell to the ground in his yard and died of head injuries, said disaster official Nguyen Duc Toan. 10 other people were injured by falling trees or debris, he added. Another 50,000 homes were damaged.
Disaster official Tran Xuan Binh in Nghe An province, north of Ha Tinh, said an 83-year-old woman died after being hit by falling debris, while in Thua Thien Hue province, south of Quang Binh, a man was swept away and died in a swollen river.
The typhoon had gusts of up to 185 kph (115 mph).
Doksuri swept through the Philippines on Tuesday as a less powerful tropical depression, killing at least four people and leaving another six missing.
Vietnamese workers remove fallen trees on a street in central city of Hue, Vietnam, Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017. Vietnam on Thursday was bracing for Typhoon Doksuri, which is expected to be the most powerful tropical cyclone to hit the Southeast Asian country in several years. (Ho Cau/Vietnam News Agency via AP)
The Vietnam Disaster Management Authority said as of early Friday, 79,000 villagers in high risk areas in five central provinces had been evacuated and another 210,000 were to be moved to safety ahead of the typhoon.
Forecasters also warned of flash floods and landslides in some parts of the country's northern and central regions. The typhoon was expected to weaken before dissipating in northern Laos early Saturday.
Vietnam, a country of 93 million people, is prone to floods and storms that kill hundreds of people each year.
© 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
