Typhoon Xangsane, which started to hit Vietnam's central region early Sunday and went to Laos- Thailand borders in the evening of the same day, killed at least 12 local people and injured hundreds of others, local media reported Monday.

Of the 12 victims, four were from Da Nang city, four from Nghe An province, and two from Quang Nam province and Quang Binh province each, said the Youth newspaper. Four men were drowned when they were fishing, while other victims were hit by collapsed houses and trees.

The typhoon damaged dozens of thousands of houses, and uprooted thousands of trees in the central region. Over 10,000 houses in Quang Nam were damaged, of which nearly 300 were destroyed.

The typhoon also damaged road sections, and power and telecommunication networks, causing widespread blackouts in many areas, disrupting the high-speed Internet network in the central region, and leading to cancellations of some trains and domestic flights from and to the central localities on Sunday.

Vietnam's Health Ministry has allocated a large number of medicines and medical equipment to hospitals in Xangsane-hit cities and provinces, asking them to give free treatment to people injured by the typhoon.

On Sunday afternoon, four grade students from central Binh Dinh province were drowned when swimming in the sea. Big waves swept them away, the report said.

Source: Xinhua