There is relief in Vietnam after Tropical Storm Tembin did not cause the widespread destruction it wrought in the Philippines.

Vietnamese authorities were on high alert as Tembin was predicted to make landfall in the country’s south overnight.

More than 70,00 people were evacuated from low-lying areas and authorities warned more than a million others to be prepared to move.

The Government ordered that oil rigs and vessels be protected and it warned that about 62,000 fishing boats should not venture out to sea.

Schools were also ordered to close in the southern commercial hub of Ho Chi Minh City on Monday, a working day in Vietnam.

But Tembin weakened into a tropical depression on approach and passed to the south of the country into the Gulf of Thailand.

Local media outlets said there were no reports of casualties or major damage.

Meanwhile in the Philippines, rescuers are still searching for survivors after Tembin triggered floods and landslides that killed more than 200 people.

More than 150 people are still unaccounted for and tens of thousands are homeless after the storm hit on Friday night.

The hardest hit was the southern island of Mindanoa, where rivers burst their banks and inundated towns, and entire villages were buried under landslides.

Police and disaster officials expect the death toll to rise with more fatalities likely to be found in remote communities.

Manuel Luis Ochotorena, head of regional disaster agency, said he expected the death toll to rise.

“Many areas in Zamboanga peninsula are still without power and communications, some towns are cut off due to collapsed bridges, floods and landslides,” he said.

The Philippines is battered by about 20 typhoons a year and warnings are routinely issued.

But disaster officials said many villagers had ignored warnings this time to get out of coastal areas and move away from riverbanks.

Topics: storm-disaster, disasters-and-accidents, storm-event, vietnam, asia

-AAP