Vietnam tackles typhoon's deadly aftermath as new storm threatens region

By Phuong Nguyen
HANOI, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Rescue teams searched for more
signs of life on Friday after a series of deadly landslides in
central Vietnam unleashed by heavy rains from Typhoon Molave, as
yet another powerful storm barrelled towards the Southeast Asia
region.
Helicopters, soldiers and search dogs have been deployed to
look for dozens of people feared dead in Vietnam in at least
five mudslides in a central region battered by weeks of intense
weather and the worst floods in years.
Molave has killed close to 40 people since it arrived in
Vietnam two days ago, although many people were rescued on
Thursday, including three fishermen found in the sea by a cargo
vessel and 33 people pulled from a tiny village buried by earth.
"The typhoon has left extremely huge damage," Deputy Prime
Minister Trinh Dinh Dung told a cabinet meeting on Friday.
Central Vietnam has had a tough year, grappling with
typhoons that killed at least 160 people, left dozens missing,
devastated towns, wiped out crops and forced hundreds of
thousands into shelters.
Meanwhile, a another storm named Goni gathered strength as
it edged slowly towards the Philippines, packing winds of up to
165 kilometres (103 miles) per hour.
It could make landfall in the Philippines early Sunday, with
winds of up to 185 kph, its weather agency said. Molave killed
22 people in the Philippines.
Goni is on course to reach central Vietnam later next week
and would be the country's ninth typhoon this year.
"My house is covered in deep mud and debris but I have no
plan to clean it up as I heard more storms are coming," Nguyen
Thi Sinh, a resident of Quang Tri province, said by phone.
"No one had foreseen such severe flooding. Crops and
livestock are all gone with the flood water. We have to
encourage ourselves at least we are still alive," Sinh added.