Typhoon Dawn - Nov 1998

According to reports issued by the Standing Office of the Central Committee for Flood and Storm Control (CCFSC), a low-pressure front in the south of the South China Sea developed into typhoon Dawn on 19 November 1998. The wind velocity reached 8 to 9 of the Beaufort scale. On 20 November, the typhoon hit the provinces of Phu Yen and Khanh Hoa, then the typhoon weakened to a tropical depression, with wind velocity at 6 of the Beaufort scale, as it moved westward inland. Due to the combined effects of the typhoon and cold weather moving in from the north, the provinces of Quang Binh, Khanh Hoa and Tay Nguyen were hit by heavy rains. As of 23 November, 102 people were reported killed, 14 injured and 2 missing. 416,428 houses were damaged and 1,321 destroyed. In terms of houses flooded, the provinces of Quang Nam, Thua Thien Hue, Quang Tri, Da Nang and Quang Binh suffered most from the typhoon. The economic loss is estimated at more than USD 18 million. Another tropical depression is approaching the Centre of Vietnam, expected to cause very rough seas and wind gusts of 50 to 60 km/h in the east and the north of Truong Sa Islands in the afternoon of 24 November. The tropical depression is moving very fast and forecast to strengthen. (OCHA, 24 Nov 1998)

According to the latest update issued by the Standing Office of the Central Committee for Flood and Storm Control (CCFSC), Typhoon Dawn and other tropical storms which hit the central provinces from 11 to 26 November caused extensive flooding and damage as follows (as of 28 November 1998): People killed: 267, People missing: 16, People injured: 92, Houses collapsed: 9,821, Houses flooded/damaged: 470,176, Schools collapsed: 143, Schools flooded/damaged: 1,484, Paddy flooded/damaged: 81,224 ha, Other crops flooded/damaged: 33,708 ha. According to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), some 2.4 million people have been directly affected by the disaster in the following 15 provinces: Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue, Quang Nam, Da Nang, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa, Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan, Dac Lac, Kon Tum, Lam Dong and Gia Lai. Some of the provinces are the poorest in the country, and the populations are largely reliant on subsistence agriculture and aquaculture. The damage to crops, infrastructure (including transportation system, bridges, schools, aquaculture, boats, stocks) and private property will seriously affect the living conditions of local residents in 1999. (OCHA, 3 Dec 1998)