Tropical storm's death toll hits 80 in Vietnam (Roundup)

Hanoi - The death toll from Tropical Storm Mirinae in central Vietnam has risen to 80, the country's National Search and Rescue Committee said late Wednesday. Several areas in the provinces of Phu Yen and Binh Dinh remained isolated by floodwaters after Monday's storm, and troops using boats and helicopters were still rescuing locals trapped on the roofs of houses on Wednesday evening. More than 4,000 passengers were also stuck on board four trains that were unable to proceed past the town of Tuy Hoa in Phu Yen province because of high water. Streets in several towns were reportedly under 1.5 to 2 metres of water after rivers overflowed their banks. Coast Guard officers in the port city of Danang rescued 12 seamen Tuesday afternoon from a Cambodian freighter, the Lucky Dragon, that had gone missing after broadcasting a distress signal Monday night. The freighter, carrying 2,600 tons of steel from China to Ho Chi Minh City, broke up and sank in heavy seas after its engine failed. The crew of eight Myanmar and four Chinese seamen was taken to hospital for observation. Vietnam Airlines said at least 50 flights had been cancelled on Monday and Tuesday, affecting about 4,800 passengers, but all flights had resumed Wednesday. The storm brought winds of up to 133 kilometres per hour and dumped up to 600 millimetres of rain when it came ashore Monday morning in the central provinces of Phu Yen, Binh Dinh, Quang Ngai and Khanh Hoa. It also affected the Central Highland provinces of Gia Lai and Dak Lak, Vietnam's main coffee-growing area. Some reports indicated the rains had spoiled the drying of coffee in the Central Highlands, but a storm official in the region's Dak Lak province said the coffee industry had not been much affected. Only about 400 hectares were destroyed, the official said. National authorities said 94 fishing boats had sunk at their wharfs and 754 houses destroyed. More than 2,500 hectares of rice and 2,300 hectares of vegetables were destroyed or flooded. Vietnam evacuated more than 27,000 people from storm-affected areas to evade landslides. Authorities had warned 18,000 fishing boats carrying 104,000 fishermen to take shelter in advance of the storm. The storm had reportedly weakened to a tropical low pressure zone over Cambodia by Wednesday, weather authorities said. Authorities issued warnings of continued heavy rain, flash floods and landslides throughout central Vietnam. Mirinae was rated as a typhoon when it struck the Philippines over the weekend, killing at least 19 people. Authorities said losses in Vietnam were low because residents were still cautious after their experience with Typhoon Ketsana in September. Ketsana killed at least 246 people in the Philippines and 172 in Vietnam and caused hundreds of millions of dollars of damage in each country.