HANOI (Reuters) - Tropical storm Son Tinh has killed 20 people, left 16 missing and injured 14 in Vietnam, the country’s rescue committee said on Saturday.

Floods triggered by heavy rains hit northern Vietnam after tropical storm Son Tinh made landfall in northern coastal areas on Thursday, while the capital Hanoi was flooded and lashed by torrential rains.

More than 5,000 houses were damaged, swept away, submerged or collapsed, around 82,000 hectares (200,000 acres) of crops were damaged and nearly 17,000 animals were killed nationwide, the Vietnam National Committee for Search and Rescue said in a report.

Heavy rains are expected to continue over the next few days, Vietnam’s Steering Committee for Disaster Prevention said in a separate statement on Saturday.</s>Floods triggered by heavy rains hit northern Vietnam after tropical storm Son Tinh made landfall in northern coastal areas on Thursday, while the capital Hanoi was flooded and lashed by torrential rains.

More than 5,000 houses were damaged, swept away, submerged or collapsed, around 82,000 hectares (200,000 acres) of crops were damaged and nearly 17,000 animals were killed nationwide, the Vietnam National Committee for Search and Rescue said in a report.

Heavy rains are expected to continue over the next few days, Vietnam's Steering Committee for Disaster Prevention said in a separate statement on Saturday.</s>HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnam has warned of floods and landslides triggered by heavy rains after tropical storm Son Tinh made landfall in northern coastal areas, although no casualties were reported on Thursday.

A long coastline makes Vietnam prone to destructive storms and flooding, with 389 people last year in natural disasters such as floods and landslides, the General Statistics Office said.

Son Tinh weakened to a tropical low pressure event by the time it reached Vietnam late on Wednesday, curbing fears of immediate and widespread damage, but raising concerns of flooding.

"Heavy rain is forecast to continue in northern and central provinces, and threatens to cause flash floods and landslides in Hoa Binh, Son La, Lai Chau and Lang Son provinces," the national weather forecaster said.

The Southeast Asian country had ordered vessels back to port and prepared evacuation plans ahead of the storm, which soaked parts of the Philippines on Tuesday.

Heavy rain of up to 350 mm (13.8 inches) flooded some coastal provinces, affecting nearly 64,000 hectares of rice and 3,200 hectares of cash crops on Thursday, the government's disaster management agency said.

Floods limited road access to many parts of Nghe An province, 300 km (186 miles) south of Hanoi, state media said.

Last month heavy rains triggered flash floods and landslides that killed 24 people in the remote and mountainous northern provinces of Lai Chau and Ha Giang.

Nghi Son refinery, not far from Son Tinh's path, was spared. On Wednesday, a company safety official had said it had no plan to suspend operations.</s>Hanoi: Flash floods in Vietnam have now claimed at least 19 lives, the government said Sunday, as residents in affected areas sought safety in higher ground.

Boasting a long coastline, tropical Vietnam is battered by floods and storms every year, with hundreds of lives lost from the annual monsoon barrage.

The remnants of Typhoon Son Tinh, now a tropical depression, made landfall Wednesday night, the third tropical storm to hit Vietnam since the start of the year.

The latest report from the country's disaster office said 19 people have been killed so far, with an additional 13 people unaccounted for.

Floods and landslide from heavy rains have ranged far and wide and impacted rural and urban areas, including the capital Hanoi.

They are expected to continue in the coming days.

State-controlled VNExpress news site reported Saturday that residents in Chuong My district on the outskirts of Hanoi were asked to leave their homes and get to higher ground for fear of heavy floods.

"We must be active in moving our furniture out of homes. From last year's experience, we did not have time to run," a local resident was quoted as saying.

Published photos showed homeowners in plastic raincoats moving bags of goods and livestock.

"My house is in a very low location so I have to move all the rice to higher places," resident Nguyen Duy Dong told VNExpress. "Since the afternoon, we have moved more than one tonne of rice."

The amount of land under seige has also spiked, with more than 15,000 houses damaged or destroyed and more than 110,000 hectares of crops inundated. Several roads have also disappeared under the water.

Vietnam's rainy season, like other countries in the region, is between June and November, but the death toll from stormy weather has often exceeded its neighbors.

In 2017, 389 lives were claimed by natural disasters, with material damages reportedly reaching $2.6 billion, according to the government.</s>Hanoi, July 23 (IANS) Downpour and floods triggered by Typhoon Son Tinh have left at least 19 people dead in Vietnam, officials said.

Besides, 17 people sustained injuries and 13 were missing in Vietnam’s central and northern regions, the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control said on Sunday, Xinhua news agency reported.

Of the deceased, 11 were from northern Yen Bai province, and two from central Thanh Hoa province and northern Son La province each. Among the people listed as missing, 11 were from Yen Bai and three from Thanh Hoa.

Heavy rain, flash floods and landslides also destroyed 217 houses and inundated around 9,600 houses.

According to Vietnam’s National Centre for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting, heavy rain may continue to last for days in the regions, and more flash floods and landslides are likely to hit Thanh Hoa and Nghe An provinces.</s>At least 10 dead in Vietnam floods

At least 10 people have died after floods spurred by Typhoon rains struck central and northern Vietnam, authorities said Saturday.

Typhoon Son Tinh -- the third tropical storm to hit Vietnam since the start of the year -- made landfall Wednesday night, damaging infrastructure and crops through Thanh Hoa and Nghe An provinces.

Heavy rains have continued in the wake of the typhoon, unleashing floods and landslides across vast areas of the country, including in the capital Hanoi.

According to a latest online report by the disaster office, at least 10 people have been confirmed dead and another 11 are missing in the mountainous northern provinces of Yen Bai and Thanh Hoa.

About 4,000 houses have been damaged and tens of thousands of hectares of crops destroyed, the office said, warning of more heavy rains to come.

State media ran images of floods in remote areas where villagers are using boats to move around. Several communities are still isolated, reports said.

"We had to move all our furniture upstairs because the ground floor was flooded," Hanoi resident Tran Anh Huong told AFP.

"We were all trapped in the house."

Vietnam's rainy season is between June and November, bringing about serious human and material damage.

Last year, 389 lives were claimed by natural disasters, with material damages reportedly reaching $2.6 billion, the government said.</s>Typhoon Son-Tinh has killed 10 and left 21 missing after hitting north-central Vietnam, authorities say.

The dead included six in Yen Bai province and four in Thanh Hoa, the National Committee for Search and Rescue said in a report, adding that 18 people remained missing in Yen Bai, two in Thanh Hoa and one in Son La province.

Among the dead and missing is a family of four who were swept away by flooding in Thanh Hoa province, with two reported dead and two missing.

Son-Tinh made landfall in Ha Tinh and Nghe An province on Wednesday night. Wind speeds have been recorded at 75-90km/h, the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting reported.

North-central Vietnam has already experienced rainfall of up to 464 millimetres for the past three days.

Nearly 1000 houses were partly damaged or destroyed, while another 1000 were submerged, the Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention said.

The typhoon was downgraded to a tropical depression Thursday morning as it headed toward Laos.

Authorities have warned of flash floods and landslides following the typhoon as heavy rain is forecasted for the entire north and central region through Friday night.</s>HANOI
• Heavy rain brought about by tropical storms have claimed more than 20 lives in Vietnam and the Philippines, while India and Myanmar are bracing for more rain in the coming days.

Flash floods in Vietnam have now claimed at least 19 lives, the government said yesterday, as residents in affected areas sought safety in higher ground. An additional 13 people were unaccounted for.

Boasting a long coastline, tropical Vietnam is battered by floods and storms every year, with hundreds of lives lost from the annual monsoon barrage.

The remnants of Typhoon Son Tinh, now a tropical depression, made landfall last Wednesday night, the third tropical storm to hit Vietnam since the start of the year.

Floods and landslide from heavy rain have ranged far and wide and impacted rural and urban areas, including the capital Hanoi.

State-controlled VNExpress news site reported last Saturday that residents in Chuong My district on the outskirts of Hanoi were asked to leave their homes and get to higher ground for fear of heavy floods.

"We must be active in moving our furniture out of homes. From last year's experience, we did not have time to run," a local resident was quoted as saying.

Published photos showed homeowners in plastic raincoats moving bags of goods and livestock.

"My house is in a very low location so I have to move all the rice to higher places," resident Nguyen Duy Dong told VNExpress.

"Since the afternoon, we have moved more than one tonne of rice."
• 110,000 Number of hectares of crops inundated in Vietnam. 700,000 Number of people affected by days of heavy rain in the Philippines.

The amount of land under siege has also spiked, with over 15,000 houses damaged or destroyed and more than 110,000ha of crops inundated. Several roads have also disappeared under the water.

Many countries in the region experience their rainy season between June and November.

In the Philippines, tropical depression Josie is on its way out of the country but will continue to induce heavy rain over the western sections of Luzon and Visayas today.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration urged the public, especially those living near river channels and in low-lying and mountainous areas, to be on alert for possible flash flood or landslide.

At least five people have died and more than 700,000 were affected by days of heavy rain, which caused flooding and landslides, the Philippine authorities said yesterday.

At least three tropical cyclones battered the Philippines in recent weeks. Josie is the Philippines' 10th tropical cyclone for 2018. The country usually gets an average of 20 tropical cyclones per year.

The monsoon season is also under way across South Asia, with India bearing the brunt.

With a low-pressure area developing into a depression over the Bay of Bengal, the rain intensity may pick up in the next two days after a period of light rain in the past few days.

Since the start of the monsoon rains, hundreds have lost their lives in floods and landslides across India, which accounts for one-fifth of global deaths due to floods.

Myanmar's coastal areas could also be hit by heavy rain as rain clouds from the storm are forecast to pass middle areas of Myanmar and reach Bangladesh, where more than half a million Rohingya are in refugee camps in low-lying areas.

Meanwhile, rescue activities are ongoing in western Japan two weeks after floods and landslides triggered by torrential rain killed more than 200 people.

There are still about 4,500 people living in emergency shelters and the authorities are considering housing the displaced people on a cruise ship, reported the Japan Times.</s>"You know, if you're young, and in this era, and if you have any guilt about not having gone to Vietnam. We have our own Vietnam. It's called the dating game."

In a 1993 interview on The Howard Stern Show, Donald Trump said those who did not serve in the Vietnam War had their own Vietnam to deal with — dating.

"You know, if you're young, and in this era, and if you have any guilt about not having gone to Vietnam. We have our own Vietnam. It's called the dating game," he said during a discussion of Trump's well-publicized germaphobia and the ongoing AIDs epidemic.

"It's pretty dangerous out there Robin. It's like Vietnam," Trump said earlier in the interview.

"It is, it is," Stern said. "The dating scene is like Vietnam."

"Dating is like being in Vietnam," Trump said. "You're the equivalent of a soldier going over to Vietnam."

Trump himself never served in Vietnam after receiving five draft deferments—four while he was at college and another for bone spurs in his feet. His own campaign said the latter condition was minor and temporary.

While campaigning for president, in December 2015, Trump expressed guilt over not serving in Vietnam and said helping to build a Vietnam War memorial in New York was his way of making up for it.

Trump made similar comments on Stern's show in 1997, saying dating was dangerous because of women with sexually transmitted infections, comparing it, again, to Vietnam.

"I've been so lucky in terms of that whole world," said Trump. "It is a dangerous world out there — it's scary, like Vietnam. Sort of like the Vietnam era. It is my personal Vietnam. I feel like a great and very brave soldier."
Tropical Storm Son-Tinh kills 20 people, injures 14 more and leaves at least 16 missing in Vietnam.