Typhoon Ketsana kills 31 in Vietnam

Typhoon Ketsana slammed into Vietnam on Tuesday, killing at least 31 people during floods and landslides that caused almost 170,000 people to flee their homes, officials said.
The death toll in Vietnam added to at least 246 who died in the Philippines when Ketsana, then a weaker tropical storm, devastated Manila at the weekend.
Flood and storm control committee officials said on Tuesday night that 31 people had died, many of them in Kon Tum, a mountainous inland province that recorded 13 fatalities.
"What worries us is that the flooding could worsen because of heavy rain raising water levels in the rivers but in particular rising sea water, which threatens coastal residents," said Duong Van Ngoc, vice-president of Phu Vang district in Thua Thien-Hue province.
Flooding hit parts of Danang as well as Hue, the former capital and a UNESCO World Heritage site, where residents used small wooden and steel boats to move around, an AFP reporter saw.
Fallen trees littered the streets and the Perfume River, which winds through the ancient city, had risen considerably, AFP observed.
"My house is now flooded to my knees," said one resident, out collecting wood from downed trees that he said he would use for cooking.
"We have enough instant noodles," he said.
In some places, water had come within 10 or 15 centimetres of the country's north-south railway line, AFP observed.
More than 1,000 passengers were stranded at Hue's train station, said Nguyen Ngoc Thien, president of the People's Committee, or communist local government, in Thua Thien-Hue.
Thien, speaking on state television, said up to 50cm of rain had fallen.
The front doors of many homes were fortified with wood, and the roofs had been sandbagged, AFP observed. Few people were on the streets.
"We are preparing to supply the evacuees with food and water for one month," Thien said.
Ketsana hit the coast between the two fishing provinces of Quang Nam and Quang Ngai, an official from the flood and storm committee said. Hoi An town, another World Heritage site, is located in Quang Nam.
Vietnam Airlines suspended flights to Hue and Danang on Monday but said they would resume on Wednesday.
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