As many as five people were killed in central Vietnam as Typhoon Kalmaegi hit the country on Friday after leaving behind a trail of destruction in the neighbouring Philippines.
Three of the deaths were reported in Dak Lak, while two people were killed in Gia Lai province. Besides, three more were reported missing in the coastal part of Quang Ngai, officials said.
The storm uprooted trees and downed power lines, leaving more than 1.6 million households without power. Kalmaegi, which had devastated the Philippines before heading west over the South China Sea into mainland Southeast Asia, had weakened to a tropical depression on Friday morning.
Officials said that it had left Vietnam and headed towards neighbouring Laos and Cambodia. Meanwhile, search and rescue operations continued for the third day in the Philippines.
Rescue and emergency services in the Philippines said that at least 188 people had been killed in the island nation, while some 135 were still missing. A further half a million people had been displaced, while nearly 4,50,000 people were evacuated to shelters, where more than 318,000 were still residing in the aftermath of the devastating floods.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr was due to visit the worst-affected areas in the central Cebu province later in the day.
Also Read: Vietnam typhoon death toll rises to 51
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