20 dead, 17 missing due to storm Damrey

Storm No. 12 swept through the South Central and Central Highlands regions, killing 20 people, leaving 17 sailors missing, and collapsing more than 500 houses.

On the afternoon of November 4, the Standing Office of the Central Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention and Control announced that Storm Damrey (Storm No. 12) left 20 victims dead and 17 missing. Of these, Khanh Hoa had 12 deaths, followed by Binh Dinh and Lam Dong (each province had 3 deaths).

17 people are currently missing, all due to the sinking of cargo ships at sea. Of these, 7 transport ships with 76 crew members sank, including: Bien Bac 16; Hoa Mai 68; Son Long 08; passenger ship Jupiter; Ha Trung 98; Nam Khanh 26; Fei Yue 9.

The storm also caused more than 500 houses to collapse, and about 23,000 houses had their roofs blown off or were damaged.

According to the Border Guard Command, the Binh Dinh ship with two workers on its way home to avoid the storm had its engine broken down and was adrift. Authorities are contacting other ships in the fleet to come help. The two Binh Dinh ships anchored in the dangerous area are still out of contact.

By 4 p.m. on November 4, a medium-low voltage power grid incident caused a power outage in the entire Phu Yen and Khanh Hoa provinces; in Binh Dinh province, only Tam Quan district still had power; in Dak Lak, power was lost in 3 districts...

Road and railway traffic was also affected by storm Damrey. National Highway 1D in Binh Dinh province suffered landslides in 10 locations with a volume of 700 m3. At Km 1404+100 of Ho Chi Minh road in Quang Nam province, the landslide blocked the road surface, completely blocking traffic.

Authorities said dozens of inter-provincial and intra-provincial passenger trains had to stop at stations to avoid the storm. Passengers were provided with food, water and safety was ensured.

A family's house in Ninh Hoa town (Khanh Hoa) collapsed due to storm Damrey.

On the same afternoon, the Prime Minister issued a telegram requesting units to mobilize maximum forces and means to immediately deploy measures to search for missing victims, especially in the waters of Quy Nhon, Binh Dinh; ensuring absolute safety for people and vehicles participating in search and rescue.

The Prime Minister also assigned leaders of provinces with victims to visit and encourage their families and direct medical agencies to be ready to treat and care for the injured and promptly resolve and overcome the consequences of the storm...

A series of power grid failures caused power outages in many localities across the province.

On October 31, a tropical depression appeared east of Palawan Island (Philippines). After passing over the archipelago, on the morning of November 2, the tropical depression strengthened into a storm, the 12th storm in the East Sea, internationally named Damrey. The storm quickly intensified as it approached the South Central Coast due to its combination with cold air.

At 6:00 a.m. on November 4, the storm made landfall in Phu Yen - Khanh Hoa, at level 12 (135 km/h). At 1:00 p.m., the storm moved deep into the southern Central Highlands, decreasing to level 9 (90 km/h) and at 3:00 p.m. the same day, it weakened into a tropical depression at the Vietnam - Cambodia border, with wind speeds decreasing to 60 km/h (level 7).

During its 9-hour rampage, the storm caused strong winds and heavy rain from Thua Thien Hue to Binh Thuan and the Central Highlands provinces. It is forecasted that in the next 6-12 hours, the provinces from Quang Tri to Binh Dinh and the Central Highlands will continue to have heavy rain, with a high risk of flooding in low-lying areas and landslides in mountainous areas.

According to VNE