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Heavy rains kill 86 in Vietnam

Flood-affected Vietnamese in Ha Hoa district, Phu Tho Province, evacuate their village on a boat on Saturday after heavy rains brought by Tropical Storm Kammuri pounded the mountainous region. At least 86 people were killed while 39 others were reported missing in flash floods and landslides in northern Vietnam. PHOTO: AFP

At least 125 people were dead or missing in mountainous northern Vietnam yesterday after heavy rains brought by Tropical Storm Kammuri triggered widespread flash floods and landslides.

Thousands of troops, police and emergency services were rushed to flooded towns in the poor and heavily deforested region to deliver drinking water, food and medicine to people stranded on the roofs of their houses.

By early yesterday, two days after the rains first hit the area, 86 people were confirmed dead and 39 listed as missing, central and provincial emergency relief agencies reported.

One train engine was overturned by floods, but no one was injured, on the railway line between the capital Hanoi and Lao Cai near the Chinese border, while the parallel highway was cut by landslides in several places.

About 300 homes were destroyed and 3,500 damaged by the floods, which had also wiped out about 5,000 hectares of crops, authorities said.

“We have mobilized all forces, including the military and police, to overcome the effects of the floods,” Bui Quang Vinh, Communist Party chief of the worst-hit Lao Cai Province, told state broadcaster VTV by telephone.

“We are trying to get to the flood victims, bury the dead and provide medical treatment to the injured,” he said, adding that the family of each person killed would receive 3 million dong (US$175).

At least 36 people were killed and 31 remained missing in Lao Cai, but officials said the toll could rise as some areas, including Bat Xat district, remained isolated because of blocked roads.

“Many portions of road have been destroyed,” Vinh said. “Telecommunications cables have been cut. In some areas it takes half a day to walk from the local commune headquarters to the places were victims are stranded.”
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