Six die in Central Highlands flooding

Hoang Minh Tu, 50, slipped and was swept away as he was clearing a sewer in Bao Loc Town of Lam Dong Province. Hoang Trung Tung, 65, was swept away by a flash flood as he was walking home along a stream in Dak Lak Province. The two died on Thursday.

Ro Cham Khai, 7, was swept away into a sewer to death Wednesday as he was playing in front of his home in Gia Lai Province. 

Tran Van Hieu, 28, his wife and 2-year-old daughter, were buried by a landslide in Dak Nong Province Wednesday. Their bodies were found Thursday.

At least 200 families living near the Dak Lar hydropower dam in Dak Nong were evacuated on Thursday as its water kept rising, heightening risk of dam breach.

Several localities in the Central Highlands, including the popular resort town Da Lat, were severely flooded as a result of heavy rains or the overflowing of rivers and streams. Many families were forced to evacuate, traffic was paralyzed, roads eroded and vehicles, houses and crops submerged and damaged.

Vehicles are stuck on a flooded street in Da Lat, August 8, 2019. Photo by VnExpress/Hoang Truong.

The southwestern monsoon and tropical depressions in the East Sea, internationally known as the South China Sea, would continue to cause downpours in the Central Highlands and southern Vietnam, the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting said Thursday.

Central Highlands’ localities such as Dak Lak, Ea Sup or Buon Don should also watch out for floods and landslides, the center added.

The region produces most of Vietnam's coffee, the country's major export.

Natural disasters, mostly floods, storms and landslides, killed 181 people, left 37 others missing and caused losses of around VND20 trillion ($858 million) in Vietnam last year.