Another Quang Nam landslide kills 5, leaves 6 missing

By Hoang Phuong, Duc Hung, Nguyen Dong   October 28, 2020 | 11:26 pm PT
Another Quang Nam landslide kills 5, leaves 6 missing
The aftermath of a landslide in Phuoc Son District, Quang Nam Province which buried 11 people, October 29, 2020. Photo by VnExpress.
Five people were confirmed dead when 11 people in Quang Nam Province were buried in a landslide Thursday, a day after two other landslides in the province killed at least 14.

The Thursday landslide occurred in Phuoc Son District, about 200 km from Nam Tra My District, where two other landslides hit Wednesday, said Nguyen Quang, deputy chairman of Phuoc Son.

Five bodies have been found by 5 p.m., with a further six still missing. All 11 people reportedly belong to the same family, Quang said.

"As communication broke down across the area, locals had to report the incident on foot to district authorities this morning," he said.

Police, soldiers and other rescue personnel have been dispatched to the difficult-to-access locality.

Also in Phuoc Son District, 25-year-old Ho Van So and 28-year-old Ho Van Do were confirmed dead after being swept away by a stream due to landslides and heavy rains Wednesday while surveying damage and evacuating people in the area.

Quang Nam has recorded several landslides since Wednesday due to impacts from now-devolved Storm Molave.

One occurred in Nam Tra My's Tra Leng Commune, burying 53 people, with 34 having been rescued, six bodies found and 13 still missing.

Another one struck Nam Tra My’s Tra Van Commune, killing eight and injuring 12.

The province’s landslide death toll as of Thursday evening stood at 19.

Molave, said to be the most powerful storm to hit Vietnam in the last two decades, uprooted many trees and damaged hundreds of houses and other structures. Some 56,000 homes had their roofs blown away.

The storm made landfall on Wednesday morning and weakened into a tropical depression by 4 p.m., according to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

Rainfall of up to 300 mm has been recorded in Quang Nam beginning 9 a.m. Wednesday.

 
 
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