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Bangkok
30 September 2009
The death toll from Typhoon Ketsana has passed 300 as the storm swept
across Southeast Asia, destroying thousands of homes. The typhoon
killed at least 11 people overnight in Cambodia and 30 in Vietnam.
The typhoon's powerful winds and rain battered and flooded hundreds of thousands of homes across Southeast Asia Tuesday.
The
typhoon knocked over and buried homes in landslides, killing entire
families in Vietnam and Cambodia. In Vietnam, floods submerged many old
buildings in Hoi An, a United Nations World Heritage site.
Uy
Samnath is the director of disaster management for the Cambodian Red
Cross. He says about 100 families were affected by the typhoon but the
agency is still assessing the damage.
"The infrastructure is
mostly lost ... For Cambodia it is big. But, if you compare to other
countries, it is not big," he said.
Cambodian authorities and aid groups are providing the needy with food, water, and temporary shelters.
The
typhoon first hit the Philippines Saturday and Sunday, causing the
worst flooding in 40 years and swamping parts of the capital.
At least 246 people were killed in the Philippines.
The storm then battered central Vietnam, sending tens of thousands looking for shelter.
After
crossing into Cambodia, Ketsana was downgraded to a tropical depression
before heading to Laos, where officials warned residents to be prepared
for heavy rain.
In the Philippines, the government is warning
citizens to prepare for more rain as another tropical storm approached
the northern part of the country.
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