Typhoon death toll doubles

The death toll from typhoon Xangsane in the Philippines has more than doubled to at least 161 with at least 72 others still reported missing, according to civil defence officials.

The industrial belt south of Manila bore the brunt of the storm, with at least 141 people killed in several provinces, the civil defence office said.

At least 20 other deaths have been reported by officials in the Bicol region, metropolitan Manila and nearby provinces to the north when Xangsane struck last Thursday.

The typhoon, the strongest to hit the Philippines capital in a decade, displaced 1.33 million people and blacked out the country's main island of Luzon, leaving some 43 million people in the dark.

Vietnam

In Vietnam, at least 16 people have died as a result of the typhoon.

The storm ripped through the centre of the country causing huge damage in the port city Danang, the historic town of Hoi An and in hundreds of villages.

Authorities estimate the destruction to be worth around $US200 million.

These people are among tens of thousands of residents who lost their homes.

"When the typhoon came my family just tried to shelter to keep ourselves safe. We had no time to gather our possessions. I came back to discover that we've lost everything," one person said.

"The house walls collapsed, I have nothing left."

"You can see this residential area was flattened. We've nowhere to stay if it starts to rain. We just temporarily cover the roof so we can live in here," another said.

- AFP/BTV