Chairman of Palm Garden, Nguyen Thanh Sang, said his resort would be opened to tourists on October 5.

Sixty of its 160 rooms had been damaged but authorities had sent 200 soldiers to assist in restoring and preparing the resort for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) tourist ministers meeting scheduled for October 11-19.

General Director of Victoria Hoi An beach resort & spa, Claude Balland, said the resort could reopen in four days’ time. Several rooms overlooking the sea had been inundated, their windows broken, and power and water supply cut.

Golden Sand plans to open in another few days but Sandy Beach opened Tuesday after cleaning up its garden and fixing the power and water systems.

The country’s Tourism Department said though the typhoon had affected preparations for the APEC meeting it would go ahead as scheduled.

On Monday general secretary of the Hoi An town Communist Party Committee, Nguyen Su, said 16 of 52 houses in the heritage town had their roofs blown off, of which three were in danger of collapse and needed to be restored immediately.

Two of Hoi An’s oldest banyan trees, both over 100 years old, have been uprooted.

Hoi An, declared a World Heritage by UNESCO in 1999, estimates its historic sites have suffered damages worth over VND50 billion (US$3.12 million.

Another World Heritage, the Hindu My Son Sanctuary in Quang Nam province, was unhurt in the typhoon.

Source: Tuoi Tre – Translated by Luu Thi Hong