Tornado Injures Five, Blows down Hundreds of Houses in Southern Vietnam

Five people were injured and hundreds of houses were blown down by a tornado that blew through the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho on July 30, Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reported. The tornado developed in Co Do District at around 7a.m. during a light rain. Residents said it happened so quickly that they had no time to prepare. As many as 147 houses had their roofs blown off--56 of those collapsed completely. The tornado also injured five residents and snapped a number of electric poles. Local government provided families who had their houses damaged with food and VND2-6 million ($94-282) each. The municipal military command sent more than 200 soldiers to help affected residents move their furniture and property into to temporary shelters. (Thanhniennews.com July 31)