Typhoon Xangsane kills 2, injures at least 80 in Vietnam

DANANG, Vietnam -- Typhoon Xangsane was downgraded to a tropical storm Sunday as it moved inland from the central Vietnam coast, where it killed two people, injured at least 80 others and damaged hundreds of homes, officials and state-controlled media reported.

The storm, which earlier killed at least 76 people and left 69 others missing in the Philippines, hit Danang, a city of 770,000 people, at around 9 a.m., according to the regional Flood and Storm Control Department.

Vietnam Television reported that two were killed people in Danang.

Heavy rains were expected to continue for the next two to three days, and could unleash floods and landslides across the region, said Bui Minh Tang, director of the national weather center.

In Thua Thien Hue province, north of Danang, five people were injured by falling debris, provincial governor Nguyen Xuan Ly said, and more than 950 houses were destroyed or damaged.

"Luckily, no deaths have been reported," he said, citing the evacuation of more than 50,000 residents from high-risk areas ahead of the storm.

In Quang Ngai province, five people were injured by falling debris and trees and nearly 900 homes were destroyed or damaged, said disaster official Nguyen Phuoc Truong.

Czech President Vaclav Klaus, who was in Vietnam for a five-day visit, canceled his planned trip to the ancient town of Hoi An, a world cultural heritage site just south of Danang.

In Quang Nam province, south of Danang, authorities evacuated more than 61,000 people to safer places ahead of the typhoon, including nearly 500 foreign tourists from the beachfront hotels in Hoi An, said Nguyen Ngoc Quang, deputy provincial governor.

Authorities were preparing deal with possible floods and landslides, he said.

In the Philippines, damage to infrastructure and agricultural crops and livestock topped $7.2 million and was likely to rise as more reports of destruction come in, the civil defense office said.

In May, Typhoon Chanchu swept across the South China Sea, killing 20 Vietnamese fisherman and leaving more than 250 others missing.

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