Natural catastrophes

6.12, tropical storm, fatalities

Vietnam: the death toll from tropical storm Durian rose to 59 as authorities began cleaning up the country’s south coast where more than 120,000 houses were destroyed. The worst damage was in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, where at least 34 people were killed and more than 450 others injured, most of them in collapsed homes. The government sent air force planes today to search for 29 people still missing. Thousands were evacuated before the storm hit, but some of those killed had refused to leave their homes. Before weakening to a tropical storm and hitting Vietnam, Durian ravaged the eastern Philippines with a five-hour deluge and 165-mph winds on Nov 30. In Albay province, entire villages disappeared under tons of mud and volcanic debris that cascaded down the slopes of the Mayon volcano. Official figures showed 526 dead, 1,000 injured and 740 missing. More than a 1,000 people are believed to have died in the thousands of homes buried under volcanic debris, mud and floodwaters. More than one million people in 13 provinces were affected by the storm and about 20,000 have gone to evacuation centres.