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Typhoon Xangsane hits Vietnam Six killed in Vietnamese typhoon
(about 16 hours later)
Typhoon Xangsane has lashed the central Vietnamese city of Danang and damaged hundreds of homes on the neighbouring coastline, knocking out power. Six people were killed and dozens more injured as Typhoon Xangsane brought high winds and rain to central Vietnam.
Trees were uprooted and boats capsized as heavy rain and winds of up to a 180km/h (110mph) hit Danang. The coastal city of Danang was hardest hit, with four people killed and more than 5,500 homes destroyed, according to officials.
Houses along the coast had their roofs blown off and electricity poles were knocked down causing power cuts. Trees were uprooted and roofs blown off houses, while there was concern for fishermen who did not return to port.
Typhoon Xangsane pounded central and northern Philippines earlier this week, killing at least 30 people. Xangsane hit central and northern regions of the Philippines earlier this week with winds of 180km/h (110mph).
"It is too dangerous to go outside right now," an official in Danang told Reuters news agency. "We have also closed the city to traffic." At least 76 people were killed in the country and millions left without power and clean drinking water in and around the capital, Manila.
Authorities have reinforced sea defences and evacuated abut 200,000 residents. 'Overwhelmed'
But hundreds of fishermen are still at sea and at least one person has been injured. Four provinces in central Vietnam - Danang, Thua Thien-Hue, Quang Nam and Quang Ngai - bore the brunt of the storm.
National carrier Vietnam Airlines said it had cancelled 48 domestic flights. Electricity and telephone lines were cut in many areas, with air and train travel disrupted.
Trains with thousands of passengers were reportedly stuck in the region. The worst of the damage was reported in Danang, where the typhoon hit at around 0900 local time (0200 GMT).
Localised damage Director of the city's public health department Trinh Luong Tran said about 435 people had been injured, mostly by falling debris.
The provincial governor of nearby Thua Thien Hue province, Nguyen Xuan Ly, said five people were injured by falling debris. He said nearly 1,000 soldiers and police had been mobilised to help. "The patients are everywhere on the corridors," Nguyen Ba Hung of Danang General Hospital told the Associated Press news agency. "We are completely overwhelmed."
However the BBC's Bill Hayton in Hanoi says the effects of the typhoon seem localised so far, with the towns of Hue and Quang Ngai - about 100km (60 miles) to the north and south respectively - reporting conditions that were not too bad. Flooding was reported in port town of Hoi An, a popular tourist spot, and the Huong River was said to be rising in the former imperial capital of Hue.
Ahead of the storm, authorities had reinforced sea defences and evacuated abut 200,000 residents from vulnerable central areas.
A meeting is set to take place on Monday to assess the damage.
Financial cost
The typhoon, which has been downgraded to a tropical storm, has now passed through Vietnam.
However there are still strong risks of landslides and further flooding in the hills.
The BBC's Bill Hayton in Hanoi says and attention is being turned to the fate of hundreds of fishermen who did not return to port before the storm.
The cost of the damage will be significant in one of the poorest countries in Asia, our correspondent adds.
The authorities are offering financial support but many rural families will have lost their entire livelihoods.
Xangsane caused severe damage in the Philippines, leaving many roads and bridges impassable. Dozens of people are still missing there.Xangsane caused severe damage in the Philippines, leaving many roads and bridges impassable. Dozens of people are still missing there.
The typhoon was the strongest to hit the capital, Manila, in 11 years, weather officials said.The typhoon was the strongest to hit the capital, Manila, in 11 years, weather officials said.
Government offices and schools there remained closed on Friday as emergency crews worked to fix power lines and clear fallen debris.
More than 60,000 people have reportedly been affected by the aftermath of the typhoon - landslides, floods and wind damage to agriculture and infrastructure.