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Vietnam braces for more floods and landslides
At least 65 people have been killed by floods in central Vietnam over the past week and landslides and flash floods could strike the mountainous north this weekend, officials said.
- Reuters
- Published: 23:43 August 10, 2007
Hanoi, Vietnam: At least 65 people have been killed by floods in central Vietnam over the past week and landslides and flash floods could strike the mountainous north this weekend, officials said yesterday.
Eight people were still missing in the central region, where flood waters were beginning to recede after a deluge.
More bad weather could dump heavy rain and trigger landslides and flash floods in the northern mountains at the weekend, the national weather bureau said.
Floods brought north-south trains to a halt for two days as workers repaired damaged sections of track in Quang Binh province, officials said.
The floods damaged nearly 55,000 homes and displaced 274,000 people now suffering from hunger and thirst. About 100,000 hectares (250,000 acres) of crops were also submerged, the government said in its daily disaster report.
"The house's roof is my only shelter," a man sitting on top of a submerged home in Ha Tinh province, 340 kilometres south of Hanoi, told Vietnam Television.
Food aid remained limited as many roads were washed away and telecommunications disrupted, making it harder for officials to assess human and property losses.
The Defence Ministry sent nearly 6,000 soldiers and more than 400 vehicles to help evacuate victims and deliver emergency aid.
Polluted
The government has not released estimates of economic losses in the disaster-prone central region, which also needed medical supplies. Water sources are polluted with dirt, garbage and the carcasses of dead livestock.
In the Central Highlands coffee-growing province of Daklak, 14 people have died in flash floods since Sunday, officials said.
The region's coffee crop was not at risk as the hilly terrain helped flush waters away quickly.
Tropical storms and typhoons often strike Vietnam from August to October.
Last year, 10 storms hit the country and about 500 people were killed by floods and landslides, the government said.
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