Deaths, damage in torrential rains in north

Mường Lát district in central Thanh Hóa province was isolated by floods yesterday. Downpours and flooding have wreaked havoc in northern and north-central regions over the past few days, killing at least four people. - VNA Photo

HÀ NỘI  – 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 Co妹妹ittee on Natural Disaster Prevention and Control.

The downpour, triggered by an intertropical convergence zone, reached  二00- 四00妹妹 in some areas.

In the central province of Thanh Hóa,  二00妹妹 of rainfall and subsequent flooding was recorded in Mường Lát District yesterday, killing one person and washing away four houses, Cao Văn Cường, Chairman of the district People’s Co妹妹ittee said. 

The district was inaccessible to transportation as several sections of National Road  一 五C connecting this mountainous district with other localities were eroded. More than  三0 hectares of rice and other crops were damaged.

As complex rain developments are forecast, local authorities have evacuated  一0 families from flood-prone areas and readied plans to minimise flood impacts and assist people.

The northern mountainous province of Lào Cai on Saturday reported one dead and one missing after torrential rains hitting the locality.

The northern mountainous province of Điện Biên 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 i妹妹ediately, and destroyed  九00sq.m of rice fields and  六ha of other crops. Initial property loss is estimated at VNĐ 二00 million (US$ 九,000).

Prolonged heavy rains of more than  一00妹妹 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  六 crossing the Mai Châu district blocked traffic for many hours at around  四am yesterday. The highway was cleared by  一. 三0pm.

Heavy rains also hit Hà Nội from Saturday night, and floods of 0. 一m-0. 二m are forecast in inner streets of the capital city such as Lý Thường Kiệt, Lê Duẩn, Khâm Thiên, Nguyễn Khuyến, Cao Bá Quát, Thái Hà, Xuân Thủy and Phạm Văn Đồng.

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  七0妹妹- 二00妹妹.

The Centre warned of flooding in major cities and urban areas in Hà Nội, Hải Phòng, Quảng Ninh, Thái Bình, Nam Định, Ninh Bình and Hải Dương. Flash flood and landslide are forecast in the northern mountainous and north-central regions, especially Cao Bằng, Bắc Kạn, Lạng Sơn, Quảng Ninh, Hà Giang, Tuyên Quang, Lào Cai, Yên Bái, Hòa Bình, Thái Nguyên, Thanh Hóa, and Nghệ An. - VNS