Reports from Viet Nam Red Cross workers in the central coastal region indicate massive damage caused by the passage of Typhoon Lekima. Three people have been killed and infrastructure devastated, with electricity and telecommunications down, and transport by land sea and air severely disrupted. Thousands of people have been stranded.

But the disaster was a victory for disaster preparedness. Some 400,000 people were moved from the at-risk areas (10,000 of them under Viet Nam Red Cross supervision).

"Although the damage was immense the loss of life was minimal," said Irja Sandberg, Federation representative in Viet Nam. "Without this mass mobilisation we might have had headlines saying 'hundreds dead'. As it is, the story has faded out of international news".

Her view was echoed by Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai who told the Reuters news agency: "Thanks to good preparatory work the damage from the storm is not large." The Viet Nam Red Cross (VNRC) has released household kits from its buffer stock and is distributing them to the affected population.

Quang Binh chapter has been actively involved in evacuation, rescue and search operations coordinated by the Provincial Committee for Storm and Flood Control.. The Red Cross continues search and rescue operations, providing first aid services where necessary.

Rapid assessments have begun to determine the size and scope of the disaster. Based on these, the chapter will use its emergency contingency funds to initiate relief efforts.

The latest severe weather comes less than two months after devastating mid-August flooding in the central provinces. Typhoon Lekima has severely affected the same area, where six provinces were already under water as a result of incessant rain for the three days before the typhoon struck.

In some provinces, particularly Ha Tinh, rivers and dams are still above the danger level and many embankments have been damaged, according to preliminary damage estimations. For instance, total losses in just one affected province are estimated at VND 72 billion (CHF 5.3 million or USD 4.5 million.)

Although full information is not yet available, some affected areas, particularly Ha Tinh and Quang Binh, may also suffer food shortages due to the two serious floods which washed away rice fields.

At its height typhoon Lekima reached speeds of up to 130 kmh. By the time it passed into neighbouring Laos it had been downgraded to a tropical depression, although forecasters were warning of mudslides and flash floods into Laos, Thailand and Myanmar.

A second, and potentially more severe typhoon, Krosa is heading towards Taiwan, packing winds of up to 185 kph.