Death toll in floods climbs to 54, Hoa Binh hardest hit
Widespread floods triggered by a tropical depression over the past few days have killed 54 people as of 22:00 pm on October 12, according to the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control.
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The depression hit central Vietnam on October 10, bringing lengthy heavy rains to the region and northern mountainous provinces.
In the hardest-hit northern province of Hoa Binh, 17 people died and 15 others were missing. The number included 19 people in four families buried in a devastating landslide in Khanh village, Phu Cuong commune, Tan Lac district in early morning of October 12.
Some 300 rescuers have been deployed to the site, according to the committee. By the afternoon, nine bodies have been recovered while ten others are unaccounted for.
The death toll climbed to 14 people in Thanh Hoa, 9 in Nghe An, 6 in Son La and Yen Bai provinces each, and two in Hanoi.
The committee estimated that 189 houses were collapsed and over 30,800 others were submerged in floods. The heavy rains have also destroyed over 22,900 hectares of rice and more than 29,000 hectares of maize and vegetables, drowned about 16,300 hectares of fruit trees and killed or washed away approximately 180,500 cattle and poultry.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has sent urgent notices to state agencies and governments of cities and provinces affected by the tropical depression, directing responses to flooding.
He urged state agencies and local administrations to keep a close watch on the weather conditions and stay vigilant for any emergency, particularly in the face of typhoon Khanun which freshly emerged in the East Sea.
