Hanoi (VNA) - As torrential rains and severe flooding isolated multiple communes across the northern province of Lang Son, the Ministry of National Defence ordered the Air Defence and Air Force Service (ADAFS) to launch emergency relief flights to the affected areas on October 8 morning.
The Mi-171 helicopter coded Sar-03 and Mi-17 coded 7844 under Regiment 916 of the ADAFS’s Division 371 departed Gia Lam Airport, carrying four tonnes of relief supplies, including water, instant noodle, field rations, and milk to Van Nham and Yen Binh communes.
Regiment 916, with considerable experience in rescue and relief operations for years, is preparing relief flights to other disaster-stricken localities.
On October 7 night, Sen. Lieut. Gen. Nguyen Van Nghia, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army, signed an urgent official dispatch on intensified efforts to prevent and respond to floods, flash floods, and landslides in the northern region. He ordered the Air Defence – Air Force Service and Corps 18 to review and arrange forces and equipment to carry out search and rescue work in as well as transport food to isolated areas./.
Bac Khe 1 hydropower dam collapses, all residents evacuated
Preliminary assessments suggest the dam failure resulted from prolonged heavy rainfall, which caused the water flow to surge to 1,572 cubic metres per second, breaking a section of the concrete at the water intake. The collapse also destroyed the central control room and damaged equipment. No casualties have been reported, though property losses are still being assessed.
