2 killed, several missing as floods hit central Vietnam

By Hai Binh   September 14, 2016 | 03:00 pm PT
Experts have repeatedly warned that extreme weather conditions are becoming much harder to predict.

Floods tearing through in a forest in the central province of Nghe An have left at least two people dead and several others missing.

The victims, in a group of more than 10 people from the nearby province of Thanh Hoa, went to the area a few days ago and stayed there to pick bamboo shoots.

The deadly floods, triggered by heavy rains on Tuesday and Wednesday, buried their huts and separated the group. Several of them were swept away, an official from Thanh Hoa said.

Rescue workers recovered two bodies at the site at around 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The search for the others is under way.

On Tuesday, two people were killed at the Song Bung 2 hydropower project in the central province of Quang Nam, after flash floods caused a dam tunnel to burst. Several others are still unaccounted for.

The central region saw very heavy rainfall on Monday when a tropical depression formed in the South China Sea, known as the East Sea in Vietnam, intensified into a typhoon.

Vietnam is hit by an average of eight to 10 tropical storms between July and October every year, which often lead to many casualties and extensive property damage.

A total of 90 people were killed by natural disasters in the country between January and August, according to the General Statistics Office. Storms, floods and landslides also injured 223 people and damaged 1,600 houses nationwide.

Experts have repeatedly warned that extreme weather conditions are becoming much harder to predict.

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2 missing, dozens unaccounted for as Vietnam hydropower tunnel breaks

 
 
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