Continuing with the working programme in Son La, a delegation from the National Assembly (NA) led by its Deputy Chairman Do Ba Ty, together with the Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung and local leaders, visited and encouraged flood victims in Nam Pam commune, Muong La district, those suffered most from the historic floods in early August.

NA Deputy Chairman Ty and the delegation spoke with the local people, encouraging them to overcome their losses and to stabilise their lives.

National Assembly Deputy Chairman Do Ba Ty (in military uniform) joined local leaders to visit and present gifts to Ca Van Hao, 4 years old, in Nam Pam commune, Muong La district, Son La province, who was injured due to flooding on the night of August 2^nd. (Credit: VNA)

The Deputy Chairman asked the local authorities and functional forces of Muong La district to urgently search for the missing persons and pay attention to the lives of flood victims, especially families with members who have died or gone missing.

According to the report from Muong La district’s Steering Committee for natural disaster prevention and search and rescue, as of Monday afternoon, the floods have taken the lives of ten people and left five others missing in Muong La.

The disaster injured 13 people, damaged 398 houses, washed away roads, caused blackouts in five communes and 7,600 households were left isolated across seven communes in the district.

Local authorities have mobilised over 3,500 search and rescue staff and soldiers to join with the locals in the district to overcome the consequences of the flood and to move people made homeless in the floods to safer places.

The province has provided financial and food aid for families with dead, injured or missing members, and evacuated families, worth over VND 3.6 billion (USD 158.400).

Part of Nam Pam commune, Muong La district, Son La province, flattened after the flood. (Credit: VNA)

According to the updated report from the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control this morning, heavy rains and flash floods from August 1^st-6^th have taken the lives of 26 people and left 15 others missing and 27 injured in the mountainous northern provinces. The victims are from Yen Bai, Son La, Lai Chau, Dien Bien and Cao Bang.

Son La province had the highest number of fatalities with 12, while Yen Bai had the highest number of missing persons with 13.

Torrential rains and floods also swept away and collapsed 231 houses, damaged 245 houses, submerged 338.5 hectares of rice, and caused 398 households to leave their homes for safer places.

The intense floods also washed away over 25,000 cubic metres of national roads, 117,706 cubic metres of provincial and district roads; damaged 145 irrigation works and 2,072 metres of river dikes, causing approximately VND 940 billion (USD 41.36 million) in economic losses in the provinces.

The Committee asked the relevant agencies, and the provincial and municipal steering boards for natural disaster prevention, search and rescue, to continue mobilising forces and vehicles to search for the missing, to help the injured and visit the families of victims.

Local people and teachers join together to clean mud and equipment at Muong Loi Kindergarten, Dien Bien district, Dien Bien province. (Credit: VNA)

Resources should also be focused on helping to repair damaged houses, cleaning the environment to prevent the outbreak of disease, providing the bare necessities for daily use, resuming production, and repairing traffic works.

The Vietnam Red Cross presented 200 gifts to the victims and thus far, Muong La district has received more than VND 7.5 billion (USD 330,000) in aid.

On August 7^th, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development launched a donation campaign to support the victims in the flood-hit mountainous northern provinces over the past few days. On Monday morning, the organising committee collected over VND 213 million (USD 9.372) donated from the ministry staff.

Staff at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development make donations to support flood victims in the mountainous northern provinces. (Credit: NDO)

Vu Xuan Thuy, Chairman of the ministry’s trade union, called on staff at the ministry to support an amount equal to a day’s pay. At the launch ceremony, Thuy handed over a symbolic billboard for VND 800 million (USD 35.200) in support of flood victims in the four mountainous northern provinces./.

VNF/NDO