Local residents stand inside their flooded home in the tourist town of Hoi An on Monday a day after Typhoon Damrey landed on central Vietnam. The typhoon has claimed 61 lives. AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Typhoon Damrey by Sunday evening had killed 61 local people in Vietnam, the country's Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control said on Monday morning.

The typhoon also sank nearly 230 cargo and fishing ships and boats, destroyed more than 1,000 houses, mainly in central Khanh Hoa province, damaged or ripped roofs of over 43,000 others, and caused blackout in many central and central highlands provinces.

Vietnam may have to prepare for the worst scenario in terms of the typhoon, because water levels in many rivers in the central and central highlands region are rising at alarming levels, and some reservoirs are at risk of breaking if the regions continue to face downpour which may trigger heavy floods and landslides, Vietnamese Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong said On Sunday.

Fairly strong winds on Saturday morning destroyed or damaged several welcome gates and billboards on the key roads along My Son beach in central Da Nang city, which will host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders' Week on Nov. 6-11.

The municipal authorities have put forth three scenarios in which the city will have to respond to the typhoon, floods and high waves, even tsunamis to help ensure safety and security of the APEC week with the participation of some 10,000 delegates, 2,000 chief executive officers of leading firms in APEC economies, and 3,000 reporters, according to the Da Nang Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.