By 6 a.m on July 18, three people were injured and 11 others remained missing after tropical storm Conson (named after a well-known historical site in Vietnam) hit the nation’s northern and central coastal provinces on July 17.

At a meeting in Hanoi on the morning of July 18, the Central Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention and Control cited localities’ initial report as saying that the storm, the first to hit Vietnam this year, unroofed 303 houses and damaged 27 vessels and swept away 37 others.

The storm brought strong winds and heavy rains to the northern province of Quang Ninh southwards.

Localities said they have not been able to calculate damage cost.

The committee instructed localities to continue searching near the Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago for six missing fishermen and their vessels from the central province of Quang Ngai. Meanwhile, rescue teams continued dredging up sunken ships./.