New York, Nov 5 2009

United Nations aid workers are taking part in a rapid assessment mission in three provinces of central Viet Nam, among the areas hit hardest by Typhoon Mirinae, which has killed at least 98 people and left a trail of destruction worth more than $56 million.

A disaster management working group, comprised of UN humanitarian agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), has dispatched an assessment team to Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa and Binh Dinh provinces.

The three provinces are among seven in Viet Nam that have been badly affected by Mirinae (also known as Santi) since it made landfall in the Asian nation early on Monday, two days after it pounded the northern Philippines.

More than 1,100 homes have collapsed from the heavy winds and rains, while another 15,000 houses have been damaged and 44,000 others flooded. At least 26 hospitals have also been damaged, as well as schools, public buildings and basic infrastructure, including transport, irrigation, communications and energy systems.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (http://ochaonline.un.org/) reported that the death toll has climbed to 98, with 20 people missing and 60 others injured, citing figures from authorities in Viet Nam.

The UN Children’s Fund (http://www.unicef.org/), which is sending staff to the rapid assessment mission, has started delivering water purification materials to the affected provinces.

The wider region has been hard hit by a series of typhoons and tropical storms, with four striking within the past five weeks. The northern Philippines has been the area worst affected.

ENDS