Killer storm strengthens for Vietnam

Rescuers are continuing to recover bodies across the disaster-hit region

HANOI, Vietnam -- Vietnam is bracing for destruction as tropical storm Lingling strengthened after killing nearly 360 people in the Philippines.

Authorities warned coastal provinces to prepare for its impact early next week, with Lingling's winds rising to 133 km (83 miles) per hour, a speed capable of causing extreme damage and sinking large ships.

State-run Voice of Vietnam radio said authorities in 11 central coastal provinces stretching about 1,000 km (600 miles) from Quang Binh to Binh Thuan had been urged to stay on high alert.

They were told to take steps to protect people from strong winds, flash floods and landslides. Fishing boats have been ordered not to sail and those at sea to return to port.

Meteorologists said Lingling could turn into a strong typhoon but could weaken before it made landfall in central Vietnam on Monday.

"We are still not able to forecast potential damage since the storm shows signs it could slow down, but the impact could be over a wider area than expected," one told Reuters.

"It is not clear now if only the central coast is at risk."

Strong swell

A national weather center report at 0300 GMT said the center of the storm was in the South China Sea north of the Spratly Islands and it would travel west northwest in the next 24 hours towards central Vietnam.

The report said the speed of the storm had slowed to 10-15 km (6.2-9.3 miles) per hour from up to 20 km (12 miles) per hour earlier on Saturday.

Weather reports said the strong wind, combined with a cold spell in the Tonkin Gulf had caused the sea to swell strongly.

The Spratlys are about 250 nautical miles east of Vietnam's Cam Ranh district, the closest point on the Vietnamese coast.

Hundreds are missing in the Philippines

Lingling left a trail of death and destruction in the Philippines with at least 130 bodies recovered so far and 229 people buried under a mudslide and presumed dead.

Floods since August have swamped Vietnam's southern rice growing region, the Mekong Delta, killing at least 366 people, 286 of them children.

A tropical low pressure system brought torrential rain and floods to the central region last month, killing at least 44 people in eight provinces.

Lingling is expected to bring heavy rain to Vietnam's Central Highlands bordering Cambodia and Laos, where harvesting of a new coffee crop has just started to pick up.

Natural disasters in the central region killed more than 730 people in 1999.