We were booked on the 4pm flight to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) but we got a message at 1.30pm that the flights had been cancelled and we were to stay an extra night in Hoi An. The typhoon was heading straight for us (of course) and the rain had already started.Typhoon Xangsane hit Danang & Hoi An on Sunday morning 1st October. Falling trees took out the power lines early on, but luckily our hotel had a generator and a restaurant, which did it’s best to feed everyone in the neighbourhood. Over 1000mm of rain fell in 24 hours but by 2pm the rain & wind had subsided and we went out to see how the town had held up. The river was flooded over the road in places and most of the trees were snapped off or uprooted entirely. 
Everyone was out on the street, sweeping the debris into piles and chopping up trees with machetes and meat cleavers. Buildings had lost their porches, roof tiles and signage but thankfully, not many of the downtown houses seemed to be badly damaged.
On Monday, we left at 6am for DaNang airport to try and get on the first flight to Ho Chi Minh City. DaNang had taken a direct hit and damaged houses lined the road as we approached the airport. According to the initial news reports, the torrential rain and 180kph winds destroyed nearly 12,000 houses, 20 ships and killed over 14 people with many fishermen still unaccounted for.
The airport terminal itself had lost part of its roof and all systems were down but Vietnam Airlines did a grand job, handwriting the boarding cards. Thanks to our wonderful agent, Tony in Hanoi, we managed to get on the first flight to Phnom Penh.
