30 dead in Vietnam floods, 50,000 houses inundated
Thursday, August 9, 2007
AT LEAST 30 people have been killed by floods that have inundated nearly 50,000 houses in central Vietnam, where the military has been deployed to help victims, emergency officials said yesterday.
Heavy downpours caused by an offshore tropical storm led rivers to burst their banks and left thousands homeless in the central highlands province of Dak Lak and other areas, officials and state media said.
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has issued an urgent call to authorities to speed up rescue efforts, evacuate people threatened by landslides and flash floods and to deliver timely medical and financial relief.
Mountainous Dak Lak has suffered the highest death toll with 11 people swept away in floods and nine more reported missing since the weekend, said provincial flood and storm control official Phan Thi Thu Hien.
Central Ha Tinh province reported six deaths, including three killed by lightning, said Trinh Tien of the provincial flood control committee. "Some areas of our province have been isolated, without electricity or telephone links," said Tie.
The national committee on flood and storm control in Hanoi also reported six deaths in the central highlands province of Lam Dong, three in central Nghe An and one each in Gia Lai, Phu Yen, Dak Nong and Quang Binh provinces.
The floods have damaged almost 50,000 houses and inundated more than 65,700 hectares of crops, the Hanoi-based committee said.
They have worsened even as the offshore tropical storm has subsided.
AFP
Heavy downpours caused by an offshore tropical storm led rivers to burst their banks and left thousands homeless in the central highlands province of Dak Lak and other areas, officials and state media said.
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has issued an urgent call to authorities to speed up rescue efforts, evacuate people threatened by landslides and flash floods and to deliver timely medical and financial relief.
Mountainous Dak Lak has suffered the highest death toll with 11 people swept away in floods and nine more reported missing since the weekend, said provincial flood and storm control official Phan Thi Thu Hien.
Central Ha Tinh province reported six deaths, including three killed by lightning, said Trinh Tien of the provincial flood control committee. "Some areas of our province have been isolated, without electricity or telephone links," said Tie.
The national committee on flood and storm control in Hanoi also reported six deaths in the central highlands province of Lam Dong, three in central Nghe An and one each in Gia Lai, Phu Yen, Dak Nong and Quang Binh provinces.
The floods have damaged almost 50,000 houses and inundated more than 65,700 hectares of crops, the Hanoi-based committee said.
They have worsened even as the offshore tropical storm has subsided.
AFP
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