At least one person is dead and 10 members of a boat crew are reported missing after Tropical Storm Talas hit Vietnam early on Monday.
Deutsche Presse-Agentur, DPA, is reporting that Talas battered Vietnam's central provinces, packing winds of 60 to 75 kilometres-per-hour and top speeds of up to 100 Kph, the country's National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting said.
The worst affected province is Nghe An, which reported the first fatality and more than 2,700 houses damaged, according to Tran Quang Hoai of the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Rescue in an official report.
The victim was reportedly a woman, killed when the beam of her house collapsed and fell on her head.
The storm also sank a coal ship at 2.10 a.m. local time in the Cua Lo area of Nghe An province, leaving 10 missing, Hoai said. Three crew members were able to be rescued.
DPA says that authorities are continuing the rescue operation but are being hampered by rough conditions.
Heavy downpours also hit the country's central and northern provinces during the storm, with rainfall of up to 104 millimetres falling in the past 24 hours, the meteorological centre said. The area can expect to receive another 300 millimetres of rainfall in the coming days.
Before hitting Vietnam, Tropical Storm Talas battered China's Hainan Island. It has since been downgraded to a tropical depression, authorities said.

Source: Wam