Damrey made landfall in Khanh Hoa on Friday last week with winds gusting at up to 90km per hour.

It is now considered the fiercest storm to hit the area in the past two decades.

As of Monday morning, 16 deaths had been recorded, half of which were in the coastal district of Van Ninh, the home of multiple fishing villages.

The victims were either lost at sea, swept away by floods, or buried under their collapsed homes.

Phan Thi Bo, a resident of Van Phuoc Commune, wipes the tears from her face. Her home and fishing equipment were destroyed by storm Damrey.

Those who survived the disaster have been mourning the loss of family members, while many others are now empty-handed as their homes and fishing equipment are gone.

Given that Khanh Hoa Province has rarely been directly impacted by tropical storms, local residents were caught off guard when Damrey struck.

Villages in Van Ninh District now resemble a giant landfill as they are filled with debris from damaged homes and the wreckage of local fishing boats.

According to Le Hong Thai, vice-chairman of the People’s Committee in Dai Lanh Commune, Van Ninh District, about 85 percent of ships in the area were destroyed, and 50 percent of those were completely ravaged.

“We rely on nature to earn our living. Now nature has taken everything from us,” Huynh Tai, a fisherman in Dai Lanh, whined.

Despite the rain, Tai and his wife were trying to salvage an engine, which cost them hundreds of millions of dong (VND100 million = US$4,395), among the debris of their fishing boat.

“My house has been knocked down, my ship is broken. I will have to go to Nha Trang City to find a new job,” Tai cried.

Vo Chut tries to save his ship from sinking in Van Phuoc Commune, Van Ninh District.

In Van Phuoc Commune, over 100 ships docked along the coast were ravaged, of which eight were sunk.

Vo Chut, another local resident, was attempting to pump sand out of his sunken boat to get it to float again.

The storm also blew away the roof of his home.

Nguyen Ngoc Y, an official from the Van Ninh People’s Committee, said thousands of fishing ships in the district had been damaged, adding that the exact number was yet to be determined.

Phan Thi Lac, 63, sits by the debris of her home in Van Phuoc Commune.

Huynh Tai stands amongst the wreckage of his ship in Dai Lanh Commune, Van Ninh District.

Houses along the coast of Van Ninh District are devastated.

Roads along the coast of Van Ninh District are also damaged.

Electric wires lie near the ground in Van Phuoc Commune after the storm.

A family attempts to salvage their sunken ship.

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