HEAVY rain and strong winds from Typhoon Bualoi flooded roads, knocked off roofs and caused at least 12 deaths in central Vietnam before it weakened to a tropical storm that moved into Laos on Monday, local media reported.

The storm tore through communities, damaging houses, schools and power poles, sweeping away temporary bridges and flooding roads and low-water crossings across several provinces. 

Flooding in cities submerged vehicles, while many highland communities were cut off.

State media said rescue teams were searching for 17 missing fishermen.

By midmorning, the storm’s centre was over land near the border of Nghe An province and Laos, with winds of 46 mph. 

In the afternoon it pushed deep into Laos and weakened into a tropical depression, according to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, with winds of 24–38 mph.

Vietnamese authorities had earlier grounded fishing boats and suspended operations at four coastal airports. Nine of the deaths occurred in the province of Ninh Binh, where strong winds destroyed houses.

A local official in Thanh Hoa province, Nguyen Ngoc Hung, died when a tree fell on him as he returned home after a night of storm preparations, reports said. 

One person was killed after being swept away by floodwaters in Hue city. Another fatality was reported in Danang.

In Quang Tri province, strong winds broke the ropes anchoring a fishing boat taking shelter, sending nine crew members and the vessel adrift. Four managed to swim ashore. In Gia Lai province, families reported losing contact with eight fishermen on a fishing trip.

Local media said more than 347,000 households had lost power before the typhoon made landfall just after midnight on Sunday. Strong gusts ripped corrugated iron roofs from homes along highways and toppled concrete pillars.

In Phong Nha residents described “terrible gusts” of wind and pounding rain.

“No-one dares to go out,” local resident Le Hang told VNExpress media.