Heavy rain and strong winds from typhoon Bualoi, now weakened to a tropical storm, flooded roads, knocked off roofs and caused at least nine deaths in central Vietnam before it weakened to a storm that moved Monday into Laos, state media reported.

The storm tore through communities, damaging houses, schools and power poles, sweeping away temporary bridges and flooding roads and low-water crossings across several provinces.

Flooding in cities submerged vehicles, and many highland communities were cut off.

State media said rescue teams were searching for 17 missing fishermen.

Forecasters in Vietnam said that at 10 a.m. Monday, the storm’s center was over land near the border of Nghe An province and Laos, with winds of 74 kph (46 mph).

They said it would push deep into central Laos.

Vietnamese authorities grounded fishing boats and suspended operations at four coastal airports.

Six of the deaths occurred in the scenic province of Ninh Binh, where strong winds collapsed houses.

A local official in Thanh Hoa province, Nguyen Ngoc Hung, died when a tree fell on him as he returned home after a night of storm preparations, reports said.

One person was killed after being swept away by floodwaters in Hue city.

Another fatality was reported in Danang.

In Quang Tri province, strong winds broke the ropes anchoring a fishing boat taking shelter, sending nine crew members and the vessel adrift.

Four managed to swim ashore.

State media said more than 347,000 households lost power before the typhoon made landfall just after midnight on Sunday.

Strong gusts ripped corrugated iron roofs from homes along highways and toppled concrete pillars.

Vietnam evacuated thousands from central and northern provinces as the storm approached faster than expected.

It came ashore in the northern coastal province of Ha Tinh around 12:30 a.m., bringing winds of up to 133 kph (83 mph), storm surges of more than a meter (3.2 feet) and heavy rain.