Storm Mirinae takes heavy toll on northern Vietnam
Typhoon Mirinae, the first to hit Vietnam this year, has caused human and property damage in the north of the country after it rolled into the mainland from the midnight of July 27.
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As of 6 am of July 28, a sailor residing in Sam Son town of the northern central province of Thanh Hoa went missing after his boat broke down and sank in the sea area about 3.5km off Hon Me Island. Five other crewmembers were saved, according to the permanent board of the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control.
About 74,100ha of rice in Nam Dinh and another 36,000ha in nearby Ninh Binh province were flooded.
In Hanoi, one person was killed and five others sustained injuries during the storm in Dai Thang commune, outlying Phu Xuyen district. Ten places were deluged by heavy rainfalls while strong winds uprooted 667 trees, hampering traffic flow. Up to 130 electricity poles fell down and 7ha of crops were flooded in My Duc district alone.
As of the morning of July 28, two people in Thai Binh province were wounded. Torrential rains inundated 39,300ha of rice and destroyed 1,900ha of other crops. Storm Mirinae also damaged nearly 30 classrooms in Vu Thu district and two brick factories in Thai Thuy district, and flattened 9,000 trees in Thai Binh province.
Power blackouts were reported across Thai Binh since the midnight and the problem has yet to be fixed, said the province’s steering board for natural disaster prevention, search and rescue.
Hundreds of trees fell down in Hung Yen province, where widespread power outages last for 12 hours from 10 pm of July 27. Around 800ha of rice in Tien Lu province were deep under water, and nearly 800ha of longan trees in Hung Yen city were damaged. Strong winds also blew away roofs and advertising banners there.
In Ha Nam province, by 9 am of July 28, the tropical storm flooded almost 28,500ha of rice and 3,000ha of other crops, knocked down over 9,100 trees and unroofed some 1,000 houses, the local disaster prevention agency said.
Three residents in Thai Nguyen province and one other in Hoa Binh province were injured during the storm, which triggered blackouts in Hoa Binh and Hai Duong provinces. It also wreaked havoc on crops, livestock and houses in these localities.
In the face of the heavy toll, the Prime Minister on July 28 requested the People’s Committees of the northern localities and Thanh Hoa province, ministries, and the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control to summon resources to address the storm’s consequences.
