Typhoon Ketsana has been named as Vietnam’s strongest storm in the last four decade by Vietnamese authorities.

Cleaning after flood.

The Central Standing Committee for Flood and Storm Control on October 6 held a press conference assessing losses caused by typhoon Ketsana, in cooperation with the UNDP and FAO.

According to the committee, Ketsana is the strongest storm since 1969 in Vietnam. The storm landed in Quang Nam and Quang Ngai on October 1, 2009 and impacted Quang Tri, Thua Thien – Hue city, Da Nang, Quang Nam and Kon Tum, causing severe losses for these provinces.

Before the typhoon even arrived downpours in the region resulted in high floods in rivers in the central region and the Central Highlands.

Typhoon Ketsana killed 163 people, injuring 629 and left 11 others missing. Over 21,600 houses have collapsed and a further 258,000 are damaged and 294,700 flooded. It also caused losses in agriculture and aquaculture totaling over 14 trillion dong ($777.8 million).

The No. 10 storm – Parma - has entered the East Sea. All coastal provinces have been asked to prepare for coping with the typhoon.

Le Thanh Hai, deputy director of the National Centre for Hydrometeorology Forecasting, said that Parma passed Luzon island in the Philippines in the morning of October 7. However, its strength reduced to level 8.

Hai said that Parma could develop in one of three ways. Firstly, after hitting Luzon, it could go to the south and then the east of this island. Secondly, it could hit Luzon and weaken. Thirdly, it could enter the East Sea for a second time and get stronger.

The Vietnam National Centre for Hydrometeorology Forecasting and other hydrometeorology stations of Hong Kong and the US Navy are inclined towards the third possibility.

However, the National Centre for Hydrometeorology Forecasting said that that under the impacts of other environmental factors, especially the interaction with typhoon Melor, Parma can change.

VietNamNet/TT/VNE