Landslides kill seven, leave 46 missing in central Vietnam

A landslide in Tra Leng Commune, Nam Tra My District has left 45 people missing, a district official said Wednesday night. Rescue efforts have been difficult due to the impacts of storm Molave, which has triggered landslides and disrupted traffic from downtown Nam Tra My to the commune, about 25 km away.

Another landslide that hit the district’s Tra Van Commune has killed at least seven people and left one missing, local authorities said.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has requested the national disaster response committee, military forces and local authorities to cooperate and use any method necessary to rescue victims of the two landslides.

Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung went to Quang Nam to discuss rescue operations.

With local terrain ruling out smooth traffic, access to both communes, about 45 km apart, has been difficult.

Storm Molave, said to be the strongest storm to hit Vietnam in the last two decades, made landfall in central and Central Highlands regions Wednesday morning, bringing heavy rains and strong winds.

The storm uprooted many trees and damaged hundreds of houses and other structures, blowing away the roofs of 56,000 houses. It devolved into a tropical depression Wednesday afternoon, according to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

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