The northern province of Quang Ninh began its recovery efforts on July 27 after a flash flood, the heaviest in the past 40 years, claimed three lives and caused substantial property damage.

The two-day downpour inundated and disrupted traffic in Ha Long, Dong Trieu, Uong Bi, Cam Pha, Van Don and Hoang Bo townships.

Many areas in Cam Pha and Van Don become isolated, making it hard to dispatch relief to those in need.

Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Long asked landslide-prone areas to evacuate locals to higher ground and put search-and-rescue forces on stand-by.

According to the provincial Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Search-and-Rescue, Cam Pha was the hardest hit as of the morning of July 27.

As many as 1,600 tourists still remain on Quan Lan and Co To islands after failing to go ashore as planned because of the rainstorms, as of the afternoon of July 27.

The National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting reported that a low pressure trough crossing the north of Vietnam has caused torrential rains with an average rainfall of between 30-60 millimetres since July 25.

The centre predicted prolonged heavy rains in the region and warned northeast provinces like Quang Ninh, Cao Bang, Lang Son, Bac Kan and Bac Giang of flash floods and landslides.-VNA