Typhoon Nari leaves 11 dead, 5 missing in Vietnam

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) Rescuers have recovered more bodies after a typhoon flooded thousands of homes in Vietnam, raising the toll to 11 dead and five missing, officials said Thursday.

Floods inundated more than 34,000 homes in three central provinces after Tyhoon Nari, which already had destroyed or damaged about 13,000 homes in seven provinces, the national floods and storms control department said. The typhoon damage included homes that collapsed or had roofs blown off by the winds.

Nari hit Vietnam's central coast early Tuesday after crossing the Philippines over the weekend, killing 13 people there.

Three people were killed in Quang Nam province, the department said.

Two flood victims' bodies were recovered Wednesday in Quang Binh province, raising its total to five dead and one missing, provincial disaster official Ngo Duc Song said. The floods submerged nearly 19,000 homes in the province, many of them up to 2 meters (6.5 feet) under water, and left four villages isolated, he said.

The Gianh river in Quang Binh province reached a record high but was receding slowly, he said.

Nearly 5,000 people were evacuated from their flooded homes to higher ground, Song said, adding that soldiers and police officers were sent to help villagers deal with the floods.

Floods also killed a teenager in Nghe An province, a disaster official there said.

In the neighboring province of Ha Tinh, the floods killed two people and authorities were searching for two others missing there, disaster official Tran Quang Duc said.

One person each was missing in Thua Thien Hue and Binh Dinh provinces, the national floods and storms control department said.

The department said the floods has disrupted traffic on some parts of several highway and parts of the North-South railway in Quang Binh province.