One of the most destructive storms in years extended its deadly path across Southeast Asia today crushing homes in Cambodia and Vietnam after submerging much of the Philippine capital Manila.
The death toll climbed to 331 and was still rising today.
"We're used to storms that sweep away one or two houses. But I've never seen a storm this strong," said Nam Tum, governor of Cambodia's Kampong Thom province.
The immediate threat eased as Typhoon Ketsana was downgraded to a tropical depression as it crossed into Laos. But its powerful winds and rain left a snaking trail of destruction.
Landslides triggered by the storm hit central Vietnam yesterday, burying people including five members of the same family. The country's toll rose to 74 as officials recovered more bodies from the muck and swollen rivers, with 179 injured and a dozen missing.
The storm destroyed or damaged nearly 180,000 homes, inundated 150,000 more, and flattened crops across central Vietnam. More than 350,000 people were evacuated from the typhoon's path, posing a logistical headache to shelter and feed them.
In Cambodia at least 11 people were killed and 29 injured yesterday as the storm toppled dozens of rickety houses and swept away residents in the two provinces north of the capital that were hit. About 100 houses were destroyed and 400 others damaged. Five members of the same family died when their house collapsed as they ate dinner.
Authorities were searching for more victims and rushing food, medical supplies and plastic sheeting for temporary tents to storm-hit areas.
Light rain fell over some parts of the disaster zone today, but most rivers had peaked and were starting to slowly recede, Vietnam's National Weather Forecast Centre said.
In the Philippines, Ketsana on Saturday triggered the worst flooding in 40 years across a swathe of the country's north and submerged riverside districts of the sprawling capital of 12 million people.
Officials said 2.3 million people had their homes swamped, and 400,000 were seeking help in relief centres hastily set up in schools and other public building, including the presidential palace. The Philippines death toll stood at 246, with 42 people missing.
Frustration boiled over at some sites. Flood victims rushed at an army helicopter delivering boxes of clothes to a relief centre in Rodriguez town in hard-hit Rizal province just east of the capital. No one was apparently injured.
Elsewhere in Rizal, a mob hurled rocks and tried unsuccessfully to block a relief convoy as it passed by.
Meanwhile another tropical storm edged toward the southern Philippines today packing potentially destructive winds and rain. It was 800 kilometres off the coast and may hit at the weekend if it says on its present course.
AP