Heavy rain to continue triggering northern mountainous region
The average rainfall will range from 70 to 120 mm, reaching over 200mm in particular areas, it said.
Heavy rain and flooding
over the weekend in the northern region killed seven people, including a family
of four, and one person is missing.
According to the latest report of the Office of the Central Committee for
Disaster Prevention, the downpour that started July 7 caused severe flooding in
Thai Nguyên province, washing away a family with two children aged four and
eight. The family was driving a car across a bridge in Linh Thong commune, Dinh
Hoa district when the water rose quickly and swept away the vehicle.
The body of a 17-year-old boy was found on July 9 after he was washed away by
the rising water the previous day when swimming across the Nam Rom River in
Thanh Chan commune, Dien Bien province.
Meanwhile, in Ha Giang province, rescuers on July 9 found the bodies of two
youngsters aged 13 and seven buried in a landslide hours earlier. They
were residents of Zone 5 in Vinh Quang township, Hoang Su Phi district.
A resident of Quang Binh district was also washed away by the flood and remains
missing. The landslide triggered by the heavy rain also injured another
resident of Bac Quang district and damaged at least 70 houses across Quang Binh,
Xin Man and Hoang Su Phi districts.
Authorities reported that more than 1,375 cubic metres of soil and rocks fell
during the rain, blocking 26 roads connecting villages and communes in the
province. The landslide also broke two irrigation facilities in Yen Minh district
while two schools were buried under the rocks in Hoang Su Phi.
So far, 13 of 20 households living in Na Lau village, susceptible to
landslides, have been evacuated. Evacuation efforts are still underway given
that more rain was forecast in the northern region in the coming days.
Landslides in neighbouring Lao Cai province affected three houses in Muong Khuong
and Bac Ha districts, while at least 17,000 cubic metres of soil fell over 23
roads. Traffic resumed on July 9, the disaster prevention committee reported.
The downpour wrecked nearly 100 ha of paddy and vegetable fields across the
three mountainous provinces over the weekend, while hundreds of pigs and
poultry were washed away.
Losses in Ha Giang and Lao Cai were estimated at around 3 billion VND (124,400
USD) and 2 billion VND (88,000 USD), respectively.-VNA