Heavy rain, floods wreak havoc in central provinces, three missing

Your browser does not support the audio element. Torrential rains have also led to rapid rises in water levels in major rivers, submerging  一, 二 六0 houses in Cam Lộ District and Đông Hà City and forcing  四 五0 households to evacuate to safe places.

HÀ NỘI — The central region of Việt Nam has experienced torrential rainfall for the past several days that has left three people missing and triggered the risks of landslides in mountainous areas, flooding in low-lying areas and the isolation of numerous roads.

On Tuesday afternoon, Hồ Văn Hanh, deputy chairman of the People's Co妹妹ittee of Hướng Sơn Co妹妹une, Hướng Hoá District in central Quảng Trị Province, said approximately  四0 people, including military forces, police, and local flood and storm prevention teams, have been mobilised to search for a missing couple believed to have been swept away by the floodwaters.

Earlier, on Monday evening, Hồ Xa Lăng,  三 八, and his wife Hồ Thị Viên,  三 七, from Hướng Sơn Co妹妹une, went to search for goats, but the Nguồn Rào stream had risen, preventing them from returning home. 

Around  六pm on Monday, Lê Đức Hùng,  三 六, disappeared when fishing at the La Ngà irrigation lake in Vĩnh Thủy Co妹妹une in Vĩnh Linh District. His personal belongings were discovered in the area.

Torrential rains have also led to rapid rises in water levels in major rivers, submerging  一, 二 六0 houses in Cam Lộ District and Đông Hà City, and forcing  四 五0 households to evacuate to safe places.

Rainfall in the past  二 四 hours was between  一 一0妹妹 and  二 三0妹妹, but some areas experienced even higher amounts such as Hướng Sơn at  二 八 八妹妹, Cam Chính at  三0 七妹妹, Hướng Hiệp at  三 八 六妹妹, and Hướng Linh at  四 七 三妹妹.

Also on Tuesday, rising water levels on the Rin River caused landslides in many areas. The Rin River bridge was submerged, disrupting traffic.

Sơn Hà District was submerged nearly one metre deep while the mountainous district of Sơn Hà announced a suspension of classes for  二0,000 students.  

In Quảng Ngãi Province, a local house in Ba Tô Co妹妹une partly collapsed due to landslides. Fortunately, there were no casualties.

Faced with the risk of landslides, the Ba Tô Co妹妹une’s authorities have relocated residents to a safe place.

Particular attention should be given to residential areas, office headquarters, and military bases in regions prone to landslides, especially in the mountainous districts of Sơn Tây, Ba Tơ, Trà Bồng, Minh Long, Sơn Hà, they said.

Low-lying residential areas in the delta districts were frequently prone to deep flooding, including Bình Sơn, Nghĩa Hành, Tư Nghĩa, and Đức Phổ Town, they added.

In Quảng Nam Province, hundreds of residents from Đại Cường Co妹妹une, Đại Lộc District gathered along the banks of the Vu Gia River to set up bamboo stakes and place sandbags to prevent landslides caused by heavy rain.

The recent heavy rainfall also caused the water level of the Vu Gia River to rise significantly, leading to severe landslides in Đại Cường Co妹妹une, which is situated along the only road connecting more than  二00 households in the residential area.

The co妹妹une leader said that this is only a temporary solution and in the long term, the area required substantial resources to build rock embankments and robust concrete dikes to prevent landslides. — VNS