Three people were killed in the central region, all in Quang Binh province, after typhoon Wutip made landfall on the locality on September 30 afternoon, according to the Centre for Flood and Storm Prevention and Control in Central-Central Highlands Region.

Two of the deaths were caused by the collapse of a 142m radio tower in Dong Hoi city.

The typhoon, packing strong winds and torrential rain, also injured 31 others, including 12 in Quang Binh, 17 in Quang Tri and 2 in Thua Thien Hue, while leaving over 4,800 houses, offices and schools unroofed and flooding many roads.

According to the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN), sections of electricity lines connecting provinces and cities in the central region, including a 500kV power line running from Ha Tinh province to Da Nang city, have been damaged by the storm.

The incidents have caused large-scale loss of power in the central provinces of Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue.

As local electricity agencies focused all human resources and equipment on repair work, by midnight September 30, the 500kV line was re-connected, while all the damaged lines in the affected areas were repaired.

However, power supply in several localities in Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue provinces has yet to be resumed. EVN has sent a number of working groups to the sites in an effort to supply power to people again as soon as possible.

The storm has moved into Laos and is forecast to weaken in the next 12 hours.-VNA