Chairman of Vietnamese Fatherland Front Nguyen Thien Nhan has urged all Vietnamese people from all walk of life both within and outside Vietnam to help victims of tropical storm Wutip.

Chairman Nguyen Thien Nhan made the appeal in Hanoi on October 2 saying that practical assistance would help local people early stabilise their lives and resume production activities.

The Vietnamese Fatherland Front received a total of 28.8 billion VND on the first day of campaign from both individuals and organizations.

Hanoi Fatherland Front decided to disburse 7 billion VND from its Rescue Fund to help people in six central provinces. The hardest-hit Quang Binh province will be granted 2 billion VND while five other provinces including Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Tri, Thanh Hoa and Thua Thien-Hue given 1 billion VND each, the Hanoi’s Fatherland Front announced on October 2.

Chief Office of Hanoi’s Vietnamese Fatherland Front Nguyen Thi Kim Dung said Hanoi will launch a campaign to raise fund for central local people on October 7.

HCMC Fatherland Front on the same day donated 10 billion VND while Vietnam National Oil and Gas group offered 5.5 billion VND.

According to the latest report from the National Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention, the tropical storm Wutip claimed 9 lives, and injured 199 in six central provinces by October 2.

The typhoon, the strongest one sine 2006, has destroyed 372 houses, unroofed over 194,000, flooded over 25,700 houses, hospitals and public communities, damaged 120 vessels and over 2,000 fish ponds.

Nearly 17,000 ha of rice and other crops have been submerged. Many sections of hydraulic systems, dykes, and water reservoirs in the region were seriously damaged.

Transportation was blocked in many areas in the region due to flood. Many areas have suffered prolonged blackouts.

Local authorities of six central provinces and Red Cross associations have actively involved in rescuing and providing food for people trapped in the flooded areas.-VNA