HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnam is bracing for Typhoon Sarika as the death toll from flooding in the central part of the country triggered by heavy rains rose to 31. The typhoon with sustained winds of 165 kph (103 mph) and gusts of up to 200 kph (124 mph) is moving toward northern Vietnam at 15 kilometers per hour (9 miles per hour), the national weather forecast center said Tuesday. Local authorities are being urged by the government to prepare to evacuate people in high risk areas. Sarika, named after a singing bird in Cambodia, slammed the northern Philippines on Sunday, killing two people and displacing 150,000.
The death toll in Vietnam, from Typhoon Sarika, rises to at least 31 people.