Vietnam is evacuating hundreds of thousands of people along its central coast and has halted flights to the region ahead of Typhoon Xangsane’s landfall, which is expected late on Saturday or early on Sunday, officials said. The typhoon, which killed at least 31 people and left a trail of destruction in the Philippines, was forecast to pound the 1,000-km (600-mile) coastline of central Vietnam with torrential rains that could cause flooding and landslides. Xangsane, which means “elephant” in the Lao language, was a category 4 storm in the South China Sea on Saturday with winds of 211-250 km (132-156 miles) per hour, according to www.tropicalstormrisk.com. Full Story