42 killed as Typhoon Hagupit lashes Vietnam

Hanoi, Sep 29 (DPA) Flash floods, heavy rain and landslides triggered by Typhoon Hagupit have killed at least 42 people and left four missing in northern Vietnam, officials said Monday.

Officials at the National Steering Committee for Storm and Flood Control said heavy rains and landslides triggered by the typhoon swept through villages, washing away nearly 20,000 homes and 18 schools. Over 60 people have been injured.

Over 600,000 poultry and 18,000 cattle were killed.

About 5,000 Vietnamese soldiers were dispatched to evacuate people in vulnerable areas.

The National Meteorology Centre said Sunday it feared further landslides in the mountainous provinces of Son La, Lang Son and Bac Giang, as well as flooding in the Red River delta.

The Red River near Hanoi reached dangerously high levels Sunday, cresting at 8.6 metres above sea level, before receding somewhat Monday morning.

Hagupit, which means 'lashing' in Filipino, killed at least eight people in the Philippines and 17 in China before reaching Vietnam Friday.