Flash floods, landslides caused by rain claim 14 lives in Vietnam

By Xuan Hoa   September 3, 2018 | 07:40 pm PT
Flash floods, landslides caused by rain claim 14 lives in Vietnam
A man sits on a house that has been submerged fully except for the roof in Thanh Hoa Province on Saturday. Photo by VnExpress/Le Hoang
The heavy flooding and landslides triggered by torrential rains in northern and central provinces have left 14 people dead.

Thanh Hoa Province in north central Vietnam has suffered the heaviest casualties, with nine people reportedly killed and three missing, said the Central Steering Committee on Natural Disaster Prevention and Control.

The northern mountainous provinces of Hoa Binh, Lai Chau, Lang Son, Son La, Yen Bai reported one death each as of Tuesday morning.

More than 360 houses have been swept away while 750 others had to be evacuated.

Flash floods destroyed 6,534 hectares of rice, with Thanh Hoa bearing the brunt.

Since August 29 the north and the central provinces of Thanh Hoa and Nghe An have been battered by downpours of up to 200 millimeters caused by a tropical convergence zone.

In Thanh Hoa, the rains sparked the worst floods in years and landslides that isolated many villages and towns, inflicting great misery. Locals also blamed their plight on discharge from hydropower dams in the area.

In Lai Chau in the northern mountains, landslides blocked national highways and paralyzed traffic for hours Monday morning.

On Friday, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc instructed local authorities to take emergency action to prevent further loss of life and damage to property.

A fortnight ago at least 10 people were killed and two were reported missing as Typhoon Bebinca turned into a tropical depression and making landfall in Thanh Hoa on August 17.

Vietnam was hit by a record 16 tropical storms last year in which 389 people died or went missing and 668 others were injured, mostly in the northern and central regions.

 
 
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