8/14/2019 Vietnam heads to shelter as Typhoon Haiyan hits coast _ News.com.pdf

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Vietnam heads to shelter as Typhoon Haiyan hitscoast

More than 200,000 people have crammed into storm shelters and soldiers have helped reinforce vulnerable

homes as Typhoon Haiyan crosses into Vietnam.

Authorities have begun mass evacuations in at least four central coastal provinces, Vietnam's state-run VNExpress

news site said, as the country was put on high alert.

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"More than 200,000 people have evacuated to shelters - some shelters are overloaded,'' VNExpress said.

The army has been mobilised to provide emergency relief with some 170,000 soldiers assisting people after the typhoon

hits.

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8/14/2019 Vietnam heads to shelter as Typhoon Haiyan hits coast _ News.com.pdf

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Many schools in the affected area - normally open at the weekends - have closed, as people from vulnerable low-lying

coastal villages move to higher ground.

Central Vietnam has recently been hit by two other typhoons - Wutip and Nari, both weaker category one storms - which

flooded roads, damaged sea dykes and tore the roofs off hundreds of thousands of houses.

"Typhoon Haiyan is two or three times more powerful than either typhoon Wutip or Nari and it is expected to do more

damage,'' Michael Annear, Red Cross country representative, told AFP.

"We're expecting a lot of wind damage ... especially for those who repaired their houses themselves after Wutip and

Nari.''

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Annear added that heavy rain could put hydro-electric reservoirs or dams at risk and warned of potential flash flooding.

"Hundreds of people have flocked to hardware stores ... Customers are snapping up plastic sheeting, wire and nails,'' the

official Thanh Nien newspaper said.

Although Haiyan is expected to weaken slightly, it is still considered a super typhoon with the potential for "complicated

developments'', said Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung at an urgent meeting on Friday.

Dung, who is personally overseeing preparations, has called all Vietnamese vessels back to shore and ordered

hydropower reservoirs to step up safety measures "to limit the consequences in terms of human and materials'', a notice

on the government's official website said.

National carrier Vietnam Airlines has advised passengers to be prepared for flights to be interrupted or cancelled on

Sunday.

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SOURCE: http://www.news.com.au/world/vietnam -heads-to-shel ter-as-typhoon-hai yan-hits-coast/story-fndir2ev-1226756771173

http://www.news.com.au/world/vietnam-heads-to-shelter-as-typhoon-haiyan-hits-coast/story-fndir2ev-1226756771173