Typhoon heads for Hoang Sa, south inundated

October 03, 2011 | 13:10

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Typhoon Nalgae is moving towards Hoang Sa (Paracel) Islands, bringing cold weather to the northern part of Vietnam, while southern provinces continue to be battered by floods, the Central Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting Center said.

Nalgae is moving west-northwest at 10-15 kph and would lie 140 km east off the islands at 4 pm today with winds of 103 – 133 kph and gusts of 134-166 kph, it said.

At 4 pm tomorrow the typhoon is expected to lie centered 290 km off the coast between Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue provinces.

Meanwhile, the flooding in the Mekong Delta due to rising rivers has caused massive damage in many provinces, especially Dong Thap and An Giang.

Yesterday one more dyke broke in Dong Thap, submerging 400 hectares of rice.

As of yesterday around 6,000 houses had been flooded and 400 families had been moved to safe places, the province Steering Board for Flood and Storm Prevention and Control reported.

Phu Tho Bridge in Tam Nong district, which collapsed after being hit by a drifting barge, was yet to be repaired due to swift currents and heavy rains, the local Department of Transport said.

In An Giang, five schools with 609 students in Chau Phu, Chau Thanh, and Cho Moi Districts have shut down after being inundated.

To prevent accidents, authorities have arranged vehicles to transport 2,800 students to and from school.

As of last Saturday some 11,500 houses, more than 4,000 hectares of rice and other crops, and 32 km of roads were damaged.

In the next few days, many rivers in the region would remain in spate, especially in the Dong Thap Muoi area and the Long Xuyen Quadrangular, the weather center warned.

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