Typhoon Wipha kills 5, leaves 13 missing in Vietnam

At least five people died and another 13 were reportedmissing after Typhoon Wipha slammed into Vietnam's northern coast,authorities reported Monday.The worst hit province was Thanh Hoa, where three were killed and 12reported missing, according to a statement by the Central SteeringCommittee for Natural Disaster Prevention.Most of the missing were from Quan Son district, where an entirevillage was destroyed by fast-flowing water.One person was also reported dead in the mountainous province of BacKan and another in Dien Bien province. Typhoon Wipha made landfall at around 10 pm (1500 GMT) on Thursday inQuang Ninh province, home of the UNESCO World Heritage site HalongBay, and the neighbouring city of Haiphong.It weakened into a tropical depression on Saturday, with raincontinuously falling in the capital Hanoi on Sunday.Around 800 soldiers from the army and national militia have beendeployed to assist with disaster relief in the north-easternprovinces, where communities are expected to experience moredangerous flash floods and rockslides in the coming days.Up to 400 millimetres of rain was reported in northern Vietnam overthe weekend, with another 100 millimetres expected on Monday.