At least four people died, one is missing and three were injured after torrential rains swept through the northern and north-central regions over the past few days, according to the latest report from the Central Steering Committee on Natural Disaster Prevention and Control.
The downpour, triggered by an intertropical convergence zone, reached 200-400mm in some areas.
In the central province of Thanh Hoa, 200mm of rainfall and subsequent flooding was recorded in Muong Lat District yesterday, killing one person and washing away four houses, Cao Van Cuong, Chairman of the district People’s Committee said.
The district was inaccessible to transportation as several sections of National Road 15C connecting this mountainous district with other localities were eroded. More than 30 hectares of rice and other crops were damaged.
As complex rain developments are forecast, local authorities have evacuated 10 families from flood-prone areas and readied plans to minimise flood impacts and assist people.
The northern mountainous province of Lao Cai on Saturday reported one dead and one missing after torrential rains hitting the locality.
The northern mountainous province of Dien Bien reported two deaths, including two children who were swept away by downpour-triggered floods on Friday.
Three people were injured by landslides yesterday in the northern mountainous province of Yên Bái. Torrential rains and floods damaged eight houses in the province, forcing two households to be relocated immediately, and destroyed 900sq.m of rice fields and 6ha of other crops. Initial property loss is estimated at VNĐ200 million (US$9,000).
Prolonged heavy rains of more than 100mm caused landslides along many traffic routes in Hòa Bình province and destroyed trees and crops.
Thousands of cu.m of landslides on national highway No 6 crossing the Mai Châu district blocked traffic for many hours at around 4am yesterday. The highway was cleared by 1.30pm.
Heavy rains also hit Ha Noi from Saturday night, and floods of 0.1m-0.2m are forecast in inner streets of the capital city such as Ly Thuong Kiet, Le Duan, Kham Thien, Nguyen Khuyen, Cao Ba Quat, Thai Ha, Xuan Thuy and Pham Van Dong.
Local authorities of these localities mobilised available forces to help people in affected areas.
The National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting said that downpours would continue in the northern and north central regions in the next few days, with rainfall ranging between 70mm-200mm.
The Centre warned of flooding in major cities and urban areas in Ha Noi, Hai Phong, Quang Ninh, Thai Binh, Nam Dinh, Ninh Binh and Hai Duong. Flash flood and landslide are forecast in the northern mountainous and north-central regions, especially Cao Bang, Bac Kan, Lang Son, Quang Ninh, Ha Giang, Tuyen Quang, Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Hoa Binh, Thai Nguyen, Thanh Hoa, and Nghe An.
Source: VNS
