Flood and torrential rain take 64 lives

Sixty-four people in northern and central Vietnam have been killed or left missing in flood triggered by torrential rains over the last several days, the National Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Control reported on Nov. 3.

The victims included 18 in the capital city of Hanoi, which had suffered severe flooding believed to be the worst in more than two decades. The death toll in central Ha Tinh Province also hit 17.

Flood and torrential rain swept away 99 houses and damaged more than 100,000 others in addition to inundating more than 241,000 ha of paddy fields and cash crops and over 25,400 ha of fish farms.

As many as 168 km of rural roads have been damaged, stranding inter-communal and inter-district communication, the steering committee said.

While initial figures on flood fatality and economic loss are being updated, the Central Hydro-meteorology Forecast Centre said more rain is expected in the northern and central provinces as a new wave of cool air is approaching the areas.

On the day, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai made an inspection tour of flood-hit Ninh Binh Province where he examined Hoang Long dyke and Lac Khoai dam which are the most vulnerable to flood attack.

In the meantime, delegations from the Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Control have been in Hanoi and Hung Yen, Ninh Binh, Ha Nam and Vinh Phuc provinces to instruct and inspect aid efforts.

The Vietnam Red Cross Central Committee decided to provide initial relief aid worth 1 billion VND in cash and commodities to nine cities and provinces ravaged by floods and torrential rains in recent days.

The recipients included Ninh Binh, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Hanoi, Nghe An, Thanh Hoa, Hoa Binh, Thai Nguyen and Vinh Phuc.