THUA THIEN HUE (Vietnam) - TYPHOON Ketsana brought widespread power outages, tore down trees and sent more than 170,000 people fleeing its path as the storm lashed Vietnam after battering the Philippines.

Central Vietnam braced for the typhoon's full impact after Ketsana, as a weaker tropical storm, killed at least 240 people and rendered nearly 400,000 homeless in the Philippines on the weekend.

Heavy rains and strong winds lashed Thua Thien Hue province surrounding the tourist centre of Hue, where the front doors of many homes were fortified with wood, and the roofs had been sandbagged, an AFP reporter observed. Few people were on the streets.

About 80 kilometres south in Danang, another tourist hub and the country's fourth-largest city, government television showed trees toppled on roads and corrugated metal and other debris tossed around.

At 0400 GMT (12pm Singapore time) Typhoon Ketsana was centred about 140 kilometres southeast of Danang and was forecast to move west at about 12 kilometres per hour towards central Vietnam, the Hong Kong Observatory said.

Authorities mobilised several thousand military personnel and police to help residents out of the typhoon's path, said Nguyen The Hung of the national flood and storm control committee. He said more than 100,000 residents had been evacuated.

The aid organisation World Vision said some people had been taken to shelter in schools.

'We have already distributed noodle packs to 700 families,' World Vision's Le Van Duong, who is based in Danang, said in a statement. 'The government has shut down airports, schools and power as part of its early warning procedures in the Danang areas,' World Vision said.

State radio also reported that electricity in the region was out. Mr Hung said most fishing vessels had returned to port in the area, a centre of Vietnam's fishing industry. Vietnam Airlines on Monday said it was suspending flights to Hue and Danang.

'Serious flooding' was feared and residents who had not left their homes should stay indoors and avoid all non-essential travel, Mr Hung said. --Reuters

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