Vietnam – Dozens Killed as Tropical Depression Causes Floods and Landslides

Torrential rain brought by a tropical depression has caused landslides and floods in northern and central Vietnam, leaving 37 people dead, 40 missing and 21 injured.

The fatalities occurred in the provinces of Son La (5), Yen Bai (4), Hoa Binh (1), Thanh Hoa (8), Nghe An (8) and Hanoi (1).

As many as 21 people have been reported missing in Hoa Binh, many of them in landslide in Tan Lac district. Eleven people have also been reported missing in Yen Bai Province.

Vietnam’s Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control (CCNDP) said in a report of 12 October that 16,740 houses have been flooded, with over 14,000 of them in Thanh Hoa.

Over 200 homes have collapsed, most of them (141) in Son La Province, and 1,059 homes have been severely damaged, with most of them (1,000) in Hoa Binh.

Around 8,000 hectares of paddy fields was damaged and around 1,200 heads of cattle and over 30,000 poultry killed.

Heavy rain has been falling since 08 October in some parts. Annam in Thanh Hoa Province recorded 599 mm of rain in 3 days. Between 10 and 11 October at least 11 locations recorded more than 200 mm of rain in 24 hours, including 290 mm in Bai Thuong (Thanh Hoa).

CCNDP said authorities were discharging water from dams to control water levels, including Hoa Binh dam, Vietnam’s largest hydroelectric dam.

Areas of north and central Vietnam suffered major flooding after Typhoon Doksuri made landfall in the country on 15 September, 2017.

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