Floods kill 18 people, cause huge damage to northern mountainous provinces

Heavy rains and floods which occurred from August 1-3 in Lai Chau, Dien Bien, Yen Bai, Son La, Cao Bang, Lao Cai and Bac Kan provinces have so far killed 18 people, caused 18 people to go missing and injured 12 others.

According to an updated report released by the Central Steering Committee for Disaster Prevention and Control this morning, the number of fatalities due to the floods in the northern mountainous districts is up nine people, compared to the previous report on August 3.

Flooding has also washed away 229 houses, 206 others have been affected by landslides and 42 households have been forced to evacuate.

Regarding agricultural losses, 226 ha of rice has been swept away or buried by landslides, an increase of 95 ha compared with the Thursday report; while 128 ha of corn and peanuts have been damaged.

Soldiers support locals in Hua Nam hamlet, Nam Pam commune, Son La province’s Muong La district to overcome the consequences of natural disasters. (Source: NDO)

The flood also caused landslides of over 80.000m3 of mud on national and provincial roads in the region, as well as washing away 3,000m3 of Provincial Road 109, isolating Nam Chien commune and the Nam Chien hydropower plant.

In addition, 144 irrigation works and 2,000m stream embankments in Muong La district, Son La province have suffered damage.

Total damage is estimated at over VND718.2 billion.

At present, the localities are urgently recovering from the floods, searching for missing persons, cleaning up the environment, and arranging shelter for the affected households.

Flood still flows on Nam Kim River through Mu Cang Chai town. (Source: NDO)

In order to facilitate the post-disaster recover work, the Central Steering Committee for Disaster Prevention and Control requested that the concerned localities and units continue mobilising personnel and equipments to search for the missing persons, in addition to organising visits to comfort those who have lost family members due to flooding and helping locals repair houses and restore production.

Localities were urged to closely monitor the evolution of rain and floods; continue to implement drastic communication and warnings; and review areas with high risk of landslides and flash floods; while arranging forces to control and guide traffic in undergrounds and crossings to ensure the safety of people and properties.

Water reservoirs safety is another concern, especially those filled with water and the smaller ones managed by local authorities who must ensure timely handling of incidents and the discharge of flood water to ensure the safety of reservoirs./.

( VNF/NDO )