Typhoon Damrey kills 43 in Asia

Damrey was downgraded into a tropical depression as wind speeds dropped to just 38 kilometres per hour from a high of around 200 kilometres per hour, according to the Hong Kong Observatory.

The storm earlier killed 16 people in the Philippines, 16 in southern China, eight in Vietnam and three in Thailand, where it caused widespread flooding in the north. Five people have been reported missing there.

Earlier, after passing over northern Vietnam on Tuesday, the storm brought heavy rain and strong winds to Laos.

"According to initial estimates, Damrey, the most violent storm to hit Vietnam in a decade, caused damage worth tens of millions of dollars," a central government weather official in Vietnam said Wednesday.

"Tens of thousands of hectares of agricultural land as well as major infrastructures such as roads, bridges and dykes, electricity supply network and telecommunications have been damaged and some boats are missing," he said.

"People still have to remain in churches, schools and public buildings," said a flood control official in the northern province of Nam Dinh.

"We have to wait until the waters recede, then restore the dykes before the people can return home. We are providing them with instant noodles and clean water," the official said.

Nguyen Van Hung, a 72-year-old farmer in Nam Dinh, said it was the biggest storm in memory.

"It was lucky that the authorities forced us to evacuate to churches and schools before the storm arrived. Now, we will be hungry as we have lost all our crops," Hung said.

In the adjoining province of Ninh Binh, flood control official Vu Kim Khoi said a lot of farmers faced ruin having lost all their crops and animals.

"They'll need state help for weeks before they can resume cultivation," he said.

His counterpart Tran Xuan Giai in Nam Dinh said the immediate priority was reparation of dykes.

"Our soldiers are still on this jobs. And we still need to give emergency help to people in danger," he said.