Vietnam estimates typhoon damage at 10 trillion dong

Hanoi

VIETNAM says Typhoon Molave caused estimated damage of 10 trillion dong (S$588.4 million) when it struck the country last month, according to a posting on the government's website, citing a meeting between Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and local authorities.

The typhoon, which Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung called "one of the two most powerful storms Vietnam has had in the past 20 years", destroyed more than 700 houses and left 80 people dead and missing.

In October alone, storms and natural calamities in Vietnam damaged 111,900 houses, 45,000 ha of paddy rice, and 22,300 ha of fruits and vegetables, the General Statistics Office said.

Vietnam is not alone in suffering weather-related damage in recent months. Its South-east Asian neighbour, the Philippines, was hit early Sunday by Typhoon Goni, considered to be the world's strongest storm this year. Goni has killed at least four people so far, and caused about 350,000 people to be evacuated. BLOOMBERG