10 die as storm Kai-Tak lashes Vietnam

HANOI, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- At least 10 people have died and other 18 injured as Storm Kai-Tak slammed Vietnam on Friday night, local press reported Sunday.

The storm, with winds of up to 73 kph, changed direction and headed for the northern mountainous provinces of Phu Tho and Yen Bai after hitting the coast in Quang Ninh province, bringing heavy rains to the northern region, reported Vietnamese state-owned news agency VNA on Sunday.

Among those dead as of Saturday, three people were in Yen Bai province, two in Son La, two in Bac Giang, one in Bac Ninh, one in Vinh Phuc and one in capital Hanoi.

Over 5,000 houses were damaged and about 1,500 hectares of crops were inundated, reports said.

After landing, the storm weakened into a low tropical depression, and local people have been warned to watch out for flash floods.

Authorities of the affected provinces and the government are speeding up efforts to find missing people and deal with the aftermath of the storm.