Tropical storm Xangsane batters central Vietnam; 6 dead, hundreds injured

DANANG, Vietnam -- Tropical storm Xangsane barreled across central Vietnam on Sunday, leaving at least six people dead, hundreds injured and tens of thousands of homes damaged, officials said.\nHeavy rains are expected to continue for several days and could unleash floods and landslides across the region, national weather center director Bui Minh Tang said.\nThe storm, which killed at least 76 people and left about 69 missing in the Philippines last week, hit Vietnam's coastal city of Danang on Sunday morning and caused widespread blackouts, officials said.\nXangsane, downgraded from a typhoon just before it hit Vietnam, killed at least four people in Danang, a city of 770,000 people, said local disaster official Huynh Van Thang. At least 5,500 homes were destroyed or damaged in the city.\nAbout 435 people were injured in Danang, said Trinh Luong Tran, director of the city's public health department.\nIn neighboring Quang Nam province, a woman was killed by falling debris, said deputy provincial governor Nguyen Ngoc Quang. Another 61,000 people, including nearly 500 foreign tourists from hotels in the ancient town of Hoi An, were evacuated.\nIn Quang Tri province, one person was killed by lightning, officials said.\nMore than 14,000 homes were destroyed or damaged and 43 people were injured in Thua Thien Hue province, said provincial disaster official Phan Thanh Hung.\nIn Danang, many houses had their tin roofs blown off, and tin sheets could be seen hanging over trees and electricity cables.\nNational carrier Vietnam Airlines said it canceled 48 domestic flights Sunday, and train service was interrupted, stranding thousands.