Illustrative image (Source: VNA)
Three members of a family went missing and five others were injured when their wooden house in Thong Nong district, the northern mountainous province of Cao Bang, was buried in a landslide on the night of August 2.
Local rescue forces are working hard to search for the missing under the mass of soil and rock which fell as the consequences of continuous rains in recent days.
Local authorities said the family was among five households in the area already evacuated as their houses were under high risk of landslide, but they returned on the night for some reasons.
Earlier on August 2, the Office of the National Steering Committee on Disaster Prevention and Control said seven persons were killed or injured in the northern provinces of Dien Bien, Lai Chau and Son La after rains caused extensive floods across northern provinces and cities.
The floods damaged over 200 houses and 84 irrigational facilities, submerged 2,500 hectares of rice, killed more than 11,500 heads of cattle and damaged 11 kilometres of canals, six reservoirs and a number of roads over the past three days.
Rains have eased in Quang Ninh, which was the hardest hit province in the raining spell reported to be the heaviest in four decades and caused by a low pressure trough.
Traffic has resumed in most major routes, while electricity supply and communication are ensured.
As of the morning on July 31, Quang Ninh had 17 dead, 8 injured, thousands of houses damaged or inundated and thousands of hectares of rice and crops submerged under water. Total economic losses were estimated at almost 2.2 trillion VND (approximately 101 million USD), 1.2 trillion VND of which was incurred by the coal sector.
According to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, moderate-to-heavy rains will continue from August 2-4.
Floods will also occur in the Red-Thai Binh river system, up to 3-5 metres.
There is a high risk of floods and landslides in the northern mountainous provinces of Quang Ninh, Ha Giang, Tuyen Quang, Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Phu Tho, Lai Chau, Dien Bien, Son La and Hoa Binh.
Low-lying areas in Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, Thai Binh and Nam Dinh are vulnerable to inundation.-VNA
