Hanoi, Vietnam ? Vietnam began evacuating more than 180,000 people from its central coast as powerful Typhoon Xangsane approached from the Philippines, where it left at least 63 people dead and about 70 missing, officials said today.

The evacuees were from nine central provinces that could be affected by the typhoon, said Van Phu Chinh, head of the regional Flood and Storm Control Department in Danang.

About 522 fishing boats with nearly 4,800 fishermen on board were still out at sea, he said.

In Danang, soldiers helped fishermen who had returned to shore move their boats to higher land today. People streamed out of coastal communities, boarding buses and motorcycles to seek shelter inland in schools and government buildings.

Xangsane, packing winds of 75 miles per hour and gusts of up to 93 mph, was expected to make landfall early Sunday in central Vietnam, according to the national weather center.