Typhoon Doksuri batters central Vietnam

People recover motorbikes from a flooded fields while the Doksuri storm hits in Ha Tinh province in Vietnam on Friday. (Reuters photo)

HANOI: Typhoon Doksuri slammed into central Vietnam Friday, killing one person and injuring 10 others as it dumped rain and strong winds that ripped off roofs and electricity poles.

Packing maximum sustained winds of 135 kilometres per hour, the typhoon made landfall in Ha Tinh province, beating down on six coastal districts, destroying roofs on some 62,500 houses and downing trees and utility poles, said disaster official Ngo Duc Hoi.

In the neighbouring province of Quang Binh, farther south, a man fell to his death when he tried to reinforce his house while 10 other people were injured by falling trees or debris, a disaster official said, adding that another 50,000 homes were damaged with mostly tin roofs blown away.

The typhoon had gusts of up to 185kph.

The whole province was blacked out as authorities cut off power ahead of the typhoon. Isolated flooding was reported in some villages

Doksuri swept through the Philippines on Tuesday as a less powerful tropical depression, killing at least four people and leaving another six missing.

The Vietnam Disaster Management Authority said in a report that as of early Friday morning, 79,000 villagers in high-risk areas in five central provinces had been evacuated and another 210,000 were to be moved to safety ahead of the typhoon.

Forecasters have warned of flash floods and landslides in some parts of the country's northern and central regions. The typhoon is expected to weaken before dissipating in northern Laos early Saturday.

Vietnam, a country of 93 million people, is prone to floods and storms that kill hundreds of people each year.