Typhoon Xangsane, beginning its strike on Vietnam's central region early Sunday morning, has killed two local people and injured 70 others, Vietnam Central Television reported Sunday.

The people, all from Da Nang city, the first locality in Vietnam being hit by the typhoon, were killed or injured after their houses collapsed due to strong winds and heavy rain. No human fatalities have been reported in other localities like Quang Nam, Quang Ngai and Thua Thien Hue.

The typhoon, the 6th one striking Vietnam this year, damaged thousands of houses and schools, dozens of ships and boats, and disrupted electricity and telecommunication networks in some areas in the central coastal cities and provinces.

Da Nang experienced power cut since early Sunday morning. Twenty-two base transceiver stations in the central region owned by the country's biggest mobile phone operator Vinaphone have been damaged, the report said.

As of Sunday afternoon, hundreds of people in the central region had been isolated since water levels around the areas they were in are rising. Water levels in many rivers are about three meters higher than the normal level.

Local military forces are actively conducting salvage activities. They have to use special armored vehicles and aircraft to approach areas isolated by high water levels.

Vietnam has evacuated nearly 200,000 people in the central region. Vietnam Airlines, the country's national flag carrier, has halted domestic flights passing through the region until the end of Sunday, and changed routes of some international fights.

Before reaching Vietnam, Xangsane, which means "elephant" in Lao language, has claimed 48 lives in the Philippines, said the National Disaster Coordinating Council of the Philippines.

In May, typhoon Chanchu killed or left missing 267 Vietnamese people, according to local media recently.

Source: Xinhua