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From: TT
Published:
Photo: AP / TT
An image from the Philippine Coast Guard shows residents of the Cagayan Valley in the northern Philippines wading through flooded streets.
Typhoon Vamco, the deadliest storm to hit the Philippines this year, is reaping new victims. The death toll has risen to 53, as rescuers fight tirelessly to evacuate people stranded on the island of Luzon. More than 20 people are still missing, according to the country’s military.
At the same time, unrest is increasing in Vietnam, across the South China Sea from the Philippines. Hurricane-force winds, over 45 meters per second, move rapidly over the sea and are believed to hit the coast of Vietnam hard. Authorities plan to evacuate up to half a million people on Saturday.
Vamco will be the thirteenth storm to hit Vietnam this year. Since October, more than 160 people have already died in natural disasters triggered by storms.
– There has been no respite for more than eight million people in central Vietnam. Every time they begin to rebuild their lives and livelihoods, they are hit by another storm, says Nguyen Thi Xuan Thu of the Vietnamese Red Cross.
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