Typhoon kills 19 in Vietnam, days before Apec meeting

Typhoon Damrey killed at least 19 people in central and southern Vietnam on Saturday, the government said, after the storm swept into the country just days before the Apec summit of Asia-Pacific leaders.

Damrey reached land at 4am local time on Friday with winds of up to 90km/h that tore off more than 1,000 roofs, knocked down hundreds of electricity poles and uprooted trees.

At least 12 people were missing and over 370 houses collapsed, the country’s search and rescue committee said. Over 33,000 people were forced to leave their homes.

The government earlier said that six ships had capsized with 61 people on board in the South China Sea and that 25 people had been rescued, but gave no details as to the possible fate of the others.