At least 95 people have been killed or are missing in northern mountainous provinces as a result of flash floods and landslides caused by prolonged torrential rain over the past two days.
Lao Cai province is the hardest hit, with 66 people reportedly killed or missing, according to the provincial People’s Committee. In Bat Xat district, 11 people have been confirmed dead and 48 others missing. Rising floodwaters have submerged and destroyed 209 houses and a large area of subsidiary crops.
Prolonged heavy downpours have caused flash floods and landslides in Ha Giang and Bac Kan provinces, disrupting traffic flow from districts to mountainous communes. Rescue forces have been mobilised to clear mud and soil to ensure traffic returns to normal.
Earlier on August 7-8, whirlwinds peeled the roofs off 110 houses, damaged public works such as schools and canals, and brought down many big trees in Na Ri district, Bac Kan province.
Torrential rain has also caused flash floods and landslides in Yen Bai province, killing at least 6 people in Luc Yen district, 2 in Yen Binh district and 1 in Tran Yen district.
At 3.am on August 9, a Hanoi-Lao Cai train derailed en route to Lao Cai, leaving more than 1,700 passengers stranded at Yen Bai railway station. Yen Bai and Lao Cai provinces mobilised buses to transport the passengers to their destinations.
In Ha Long city, Quang Ninh province, a section of the 7m high sea embankment collapsed at 04.00 on August 9, killing 7 workers who were sleeping in a shelter underneath. Landslides also damaged a house in Cao Xanh ward, killing 1 person.
In a telegram released on August 9, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung sent condolences to the victims’ families and asked the National Steering Committee for Floods and Storms Control and northern mountainous provinces to take emergency measures to cope with the rising floodwaters.
According to the latest weather forecast, floodwaters of major rivers in the northwestern region will continue rising in the coming days, causing a major threat to regional reservoirs, the dyke embankment and lowlands.
Source: VOV