Vietnam braces after storm lashes China

Farmers pile up newly harvested rice hours prior the arrival of Typhoon Nesat, in Thai Thuy district, northeastern province of Thai Binh, on September 30. Gale force winds and torrential rain continued to lash China's southeast coast on Friday and high winds buffeted Hanoi, where forecasters said Nesat would hit Vietnam's northeast coast in the afternoon

>> Typhoon Nesat to strike northern region

>> Typhoon shuts down Hong Kong, hits China

Beijing, which had issued its first red typhoon alert of the year, downgraded Typhoon Nesat to a "strong tropical storm" as it slowed at sea, after forcing 300,000 people to evacuate on the tropical island of Hainan.

Gale force winds and torrential rain continued to lash China's southeast coast on Friday and high winds buffeted Hanoi, where forecasters said Nesat would hit Vietnam's northeast coast in the afternoon.

"According to our predictions, after reaching land the typhoon will be weaker but still quite powerful," Bui Minh Tang, director of Vietnam's national weather forecasting centre, told AFP.

"It will be accompanied by heavy rain and violent winds."

Voice of Vietnam radio reported that about 5,000 residents of an island off the northeastern port city of Haiphong had sought shelter.

Authorities earlier said fishing boats should return to port and urged farmers to harvest crops quickly to reduce potential losses from Nesat.

A fisherman checks the anchoring cable connected to fishing boats anchored in a safe haven in preparation for the arrival of Typhoon Nesat in Thai Thuy district, northeastern province of Thai Binh, on September 30

On China's Hainan island Thursday, authorities called more than 27,000 boats back to port, suspended flight and ferry services and closed schools, but there were no reports of injuries or deaths.

Chinese state media said the storm had caused substantial damage, with direct economic losses of more than 500 million yuan ($78 million) in one Hainan city alone.

In Hong Kong, life was returning to normal after the city was shut down by the typhoon on Thursday, with three people reported injured by falling scaffolding and tree branches.

In the Philippines, tens of thousands of people battled neck-deep floodwaters after Nesat's deadly path across Luzon.

The government there said nearly a million people had been affected by the flooding and that another typhoon, Nalgae, was forecast to dump more rain across the main island of Luzon from Saturday.

"Our problem is the floodwaters have yet to be flushed out to sea and rains dumped on nearby mountains are still on their way down to the plains," said Science Undersecretary Graciano Yumul.

"When Nalgae strikes it will suck the wet southwest monsoons into these same areas and any fresh rains are bound to worsen the flooding."

Severe floods have also devastated swathes of Southeast Asia, with eight people, mostly children, reported dead in Vietnam's southern Mekong Delta provinces.

Unusually severe monsoon rains have killed almost 190 people in Thailand over the past two months and claimed more than 100 lives in Cambodia.