Three dead, eight missing in northern Vietnam flooding

The northern highlands province of Hoa Binh reported three deaths: Dinh Thi Nguyet, 35, Ha Tam Uyen, 4, and Nguyen Minh Hieu, 10, were swept away by floodwaters and their bodies found later.

Of the eight people listed missing, also swept away by floods, two were from Hoa Binh, one from Phu Tho, two in Lao Cai and four in Nam Dinh Province.

The four people missing in Nam Dinh are a 35-year-old woman, her 8-year-old daughter and two nieces, aged 11 and 12. They went to a river at around 6:30 p.m. Thursday. When the three children entered the river to swim, they were swept away. The woman jumped in to try and save them, only to be swept away as well.

Storm Mulan weakened into a tropical depression Thursday morning before making landfall in Quang Ninh and Hai Phong. It has caused heavy rains in the northern region and the two central provinces of Thanh Hoa and Nghe An.

From 7 p.m. Thursday to 8 a.m. Friday, several northern Vietnam localities recorded rain levels of over 180 mm, including Hoa Binh (270 mm), Vinh Phuc (240 mm) and Hanoi (220 mm).

Heavy rains inundated several areas of Hanoi and other northern provinces, paralyzing traffic Friday morning.

Due to high levels of rainfall, erosion risks are also high, especially in mountainous regions of Hoa Binh, Phu Tho, Tuyen Quang, Thanh Hoa and Nghe An, meteorologists said.