Floods and heavy rain kill five in Vietnam

In the Central Highland province of Lam Dong, heavy rain on July 30 triggered landslides, disrupting traffic on Bao Loc Pass connecting with national highway 20.

Tonnes of rocks and soil on top of the hill suddenly fell down on a traffic police station on Bao Loc Pass, burying three police officers on duty and a local resident.

More than 200 rescue workers were deployed to the scene and the bodies of the three police officers buried under debris were recovered on July 30 evening. Search was going on for the missing local resident.

Heavy rain also brought down big trees and triggered landslides on national highway 55 connecting Tanh Linh district of Binh Thuan province and Bao Loc township of Lam Dong province.

The section of the highway was made impassable by fallen trees and landslides, said Tran Dinh Hoa, deputy head of the Da Mi commune administration, adding four specialised vehicles were dispatched to clear piles of rocks and soil, but the road remained cut off due to a large volume of soil and rocks and fallen trees.

Elsewhere, torrential rain accompanied by whirlwinds also hit the Mekong Delta region, causing great damage to people and property.

A local house collapsed during the heights of the whirlwinds on July 30, killing a 36-year-old woman. Her husband, 37, and son, 8, were injured.

Heavy downpours also submerged parts of Bac Lieu, Ca Mau, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, and An Giang provinces. Strong winds brought down trees and electric poles, while severe flooding threatened thousands of hectares of rice and subsidiary crops.  

According to the National Centre of Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, An Giang, Hau Giang, Dong Nai, Soc Trang and Kien Giang provinces received between 90-210mm of rain on July 29-30 which is equivalent to the amount of rain for the whole month.

Weather experts warned about subsequent flooding and landslides in the mountainous areas as heavy rain is forecast to continue falling this week.