By Phuong Nguyen
HANOI, Oct 28 (Reuters) - At least 26 fishermen were missing
at sea as one of the strongest typhoons in two decades tore into
Vietnam's central coastline on Wednesday, uprooting trees and
forcing hundreds of thousands into shelter.
Typhoon Molave, packing winds of up to 135 kilometres (83.9
miles) per hour, was expected to make landfall around noon local
time (0500) and had already caused two deaths and left dozens
missing as it approached.
"I can see bits of roof, perhaps mine included, and tree
branches flying under sky thick with clouds," Nguyen Van Muoi, a
resident in central Binh Dinh province told Reuters by phone.
"My poor house will likely be covered in deep mud and flood
water after this," said Muoi, who was speaking from an
evacuation shelter.
Twenty-six fishermen were missing after their boats sank
when trying to return to shore on Tuesday, the government said.
Two navy ships were mobilised to try to find them.
Some 250,000 military have been deployed or placed on
standby ahead of the typhoon and helicopters and amphibious
vehicles prepared for the aftermath, the government said.
Vietnam has seen nine storms so far this year and intense
rain since early this month October has caused the worst
flooding in decades, and several deadly mudslides.
At least 130 people have been killed in the central region,
about a third of those soldiers, and dozens of people were still
missing. Molave hit the Philippines at the weekend and the disaster
agency said the death toll there had risen to nine on Tuesday.
In Vietnam, hundreds of thousands of people have been
evacuated from the path of the storm and those who stayed home
were told to remain indoors until further notice.
State television showed footage of strong wind battering
Quang Nam province, home to the historic world heritage site of
Hoi An, as a presenter struggled to stand up.