Floods leave 21 dead and many missing

The water level in rivers from Nghe An to Quang Binh provinces continues to rise. By October 18,

seven people had lost their lives and three had remained missing in Ha Tinh. Currently, 198 communes in all 12 districts in the province are still 3m-5m under water.

Floods have caused traffic congestion in areas along the National Highways, and Ho Chi Minh route as well as the North-South railway line. Thousands of cars and several trains are being held up at Hong Linh and various railway stations. Highways and country roads are under deep water and many are isolated.

Ha Tinh had mobilised all its resources, with hundreds of boats and thousands of soldiers, police, border guards and militia to engage in evacuating local people to safe areas. By October 17, the province had evacuated nearly 17,900 households and provided them with 100 tonnes of noodles and nearly 100 tonnes of rice.

Vo Kim Cu, Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee said that due to their limited resources, the province has asked the Government to provide 30-40 boats to evacuate local people from flooded areas and around 5,000 tonnes of rice and medicine. In the initial period, the Government will need to provide VND1,000 billion to help local people get back to normal and ensure social welfare.

On October 17-18 many districts in Nghe An province experienced heavy rains, and subsequent floods which left 8 dead and forced 15,000 households to evacuate to high ground.

Heavy rain over the last four days has submerged many roads under water. On October 18, many parts of Highway 1A and road 537 were cut off.

Nguyen Dinh Chi, Vice Chairman of the Nghe An provincial People’s Committee, said that the province had mobilised all its resources to help the local people cope with the floods.

On October 17, the provincial High Commander of Border Guards sent more than 600 soldiers and equipment to evacuate local people from dangerous areas, especially where flash floods are likely to occur.

The section of highway 1A that runs through Nghi Loc district is 1-1.2m under water, halting traffic.

According to the National Centre for hydro-meteorological forecasting, all the rivers stretching from Ha Tinh to Quang Ngai province are at a very high level.

*** A live TV broadcast on October 17 to call for coordinated efforts to overcome the damage caused by the recent two historic floods.

Tran Duc Lai, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications, launched a campaign to send messages to flood victims. Each sms “UH” is sent to 1405, and VND5,000 will be presented to flood victims.

Thousands of organizations and individuals have donated billions of Vietnam Dong to the central region, including the Thang Long- soul of mountain and river programme with VND610 million, the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group with VND500 million and the Ha Long Investment and Development Company with VND200 million.