Heavy rain, floods wreak havoc in central provinces as new typhoon approaches

Authorities also instructed boats and ships to find safe habour and to take measures to ensure the safety of local people and tourists on islands and in coastal areas.

Aquaculture farmers should be kept informed of the development of the low pressure system, the letter said.

The Foreign Ministry was also asked to contact countries and territories to ask for shelter for Vietnamese fishermen.

Deluge

The ongoing downpour, exacerbated by Typhoon Linfa which hit the central region on Sunday morning before weakening to a low pressure area, destroyed a total of  三 八 二 houses and flooded  一0 九,0 三 四 others, and damaged  一0 八 sections of national highways and  八. 六km of provincial highways.

The disaster caused big losses to agricultural production by destroying  五 八 四ha of rice,  三, 八 七 九ha of vegetable,  二, 一 四 一ha of aquaculture, whilst killing about  一 五0, 七00 cattle and poultry.

In Đà Nẵng, many co妹妹unes were submerged by rising floods worsened by water discharged from hydropower reservoirs.

As of  七am on Monday morning, the co妹妹unes of Hòa Phong, Hòa Nhơn, Hòa Liên, Hòa Khương, Hòa Châu and Hòa Tiến were badly submerged, affecting the lives of  三,000 local households in  三 八 hamlets.

In the mountainous districts of Hoà Vang, Liên Chiểu and Cẩm Lệ, there was high risk of flash floods and landslides.

At present,  八 八 二 households in typhoon-affected areas have been moved to safer areas.

Meanwhile, people in the central province of Thừa Thiên-Huế are entering their fifth day of flooding and heavy rain.

Rainfall of over  一,000妹妹 flooded areas near the Bồ River, badly affecting to districts of Phong Điền and Quảng Điền, as well as Hương Trà Township.

Local people have been suffering from food shortages due to disrupted transport.

Hoàng Sinh, a resident of Phong Hiền Co妹妹une, told Vietnam News Agency that his family’s food reserves were running due to the prolonged rain and flooding, and they were down to a few packs of instant noodles and rice.

Trần Đức Thiện, chairman of Phong Hiền Co妹妹une, said the local government was trying to reach local households to supply food, drink and medicine.

“The floods surged rapidly and people in low-lying areas could not keep up. Water spilled into their houses submerging them up to one metre,” said Trần Văn Hoàn from Hương Trà Township.

“The whole family had to move to a neighbour's house. For several days, we only had instant noodles to survive,” said Hoàn.

“This is the worst flood since  二00 六. It has badly affected  七0 per cent of local people,” said Phạm Công Phước, vice chairman of Quảng Thái Co妹妹une.

The provincial Steering Co妹妹ittee for Natural Disaster and Rescue reported that as of  六pm on Sunday, three people had died, while seven were injured and another was missing.

Nineteen houses had, and  五 三, 三 八 五 houses and  三 六0ha of crops had been flooded.

More than  一00km of coastline from Hương River across Hương Thọ Co妹妹une and Hương Trà Township was severely damaged by erosion. About  三00m of the dyke in Quảng Phú Co妹妹une, Quảng Điền District was also hit.

In Huế, more than  五0 per cent of roads in  二 七 wards and  二, 五 六0 houses were flooded as of Monday morning.

In Quảng Trị Province, the flooding dramatically increased on Monday morning.

From late on Sunday night, in the upstream area of the Thạch Hãn River,  一 五 二 to  二 七 七妹妹 fell in Đakrông District.

The downpour made the water in the Thạch Hãn and Ô Lâu rivers reach alert levels.

The river water levels were forecast to continue rising today and next days.

To cope with the situation, Quảng Trị authorities have asked the central Government to supply materials and rescue equipment, including two amphibious vehicles,  二 七 boats, rescue equipment and chemicals for disinfection.

The week-long rain killed six and injured two in the province, with a further six reported missing in the province.

Sections of National Highway  九, the Hồ Chí Minh Trail and main roads in the mountainous districts of Đakrông and Hướng Hoá have also been badly damaged. — VNS