Typhoon Bebinca weakens, but leaves villages submerged in water
Typhoon Bebinca weakened to a tropical low-pressure system when it made landfall in Vietnam on August 17, but heavy rains left severe consequences in the provinces of Son La, Thanh Hoa and Nghe An.
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At least seven have died or gone missing due to flooding as an impact of the storm, according to initial reports from the three affected provinces. Four of the victims were in the central province of Nghe An whilst Son La reported one death and one missing.
Water levels in local rivers rose quickly causing inundation in Nghe An’s Quy Hop, Con Cuong, Tuong Duong, Que Phong and Ky Son districts, causing disruption to local residents.
The districts of Lang Chanh and Ba Thuoc in Thanh Hoa Province have also been put on high alert of flash floods and landslides.
“The inundation is more severe than in previous storms,” said Vo Sy Son, vice chairman of the People’s Committee of Quy Hop District in Nghe An Province.
According to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, Nghe An Province received up to 280 millimetres of rain.
Flooding and landslides on a large scale occurred in Chau Ly, Chau Thanh and Chau Hong communes, isolating many villages in these areas. Particularly, spillways in Chau Ly Commune were all flooded, totally blocking off nearby villages.
“Some parts of the district have experienced the most serious flooding in the past 30 years,” said Nguyen Dinh Tung, chairman of Quy Hop District’s People’s Committee.
In Ky Son District’s My Ly Commune, 19 houses were reported to have flooded, four of which are totally immersed in water.
Due to rising water levels, hydropower plants in Nghe An Province, including Nam Mo Reservoir in Ky Sơn District, Chau Thang Reservoir in Quy Chau District and Ban Ve Reservoir in Tuong Duong District, started to discharge water on August 16 evening.
No reports of damage have been made.
Heavy rain yesterday also reportedly hit the northern provinces of Lang Son, Hoa Binh and Yen Bai. The districts of Cao Loc, Loc Binh and Chi Lang in Lang Son Province, Van Chan, Tram Tau, Nghia Lo and Mu Cang Chai in Yen Bai Province, and Da Bac, Mai Chau and Lac Thuy in Hoa Binh all have a high risk of landslides and flash floods.
The forecasting centre has warned of more torrential rains in Nghe An and Thanh Hoa over the next few days.
