Storm Rai kills 5 in Vietnam; 10 people missing

By Bennett Murray

HANOI

Five people are confirmed dead and another ten are missing in Vietnam after a tropical storm powering through Southeast Asia battered the country's central coastline.

The National Steering Committee for Disaster Prevention and Control said in a statement Thursday that after making landfall Tuesday morning near Da Nang with 80 kph (50 mph) winds, Tropical Storm Rai unleashed flash floods that submerged 1,700 homes.

The dead included two people whose bodies were recovered Wednesday afternoon after rushing water destroyed their huts in Thanh Hoa province, reported the VN Express news site.

Among the missing are two workers at a hydroelectric plant in Quang Nam province, who were reportedly swept away in a flash flood after the dam burst.

Their bodies have yet to be found.

Mountainous areas in central Vietnam are on alert for more landslides, reported the country's steering committee.