Floods Leave 24 Dead, 4 Missing in Central Vietnam

At least 24 people died and eight others injured by floods in Vietnam’s four central provinces last weekend ahead of typhoon storm Sarika which is heading towards the central region, according to a report by foreign news agencies. Meanwhile, Vietnam’s state media quoted the Department of Natural Disaster Prevention and Control as saying that 21 people died and eight others missing after heavy rains submerged the region. Quang Binh suffered the most with 15 people died and seven others missing. Other provinces of Nghe An, Ha Tinh, and Thua Thien-Hue also reported deaths when many parts in their localities have been submerged in the tropical storm. State media reported that more nearly 500,000 people have been displaced and more than 100,000 houses submerged and damaged by floods. According to the VTV, many reservoirs were nearly full now and could burst at any time. It showed footage of people stranded on the roofs of their homes. The newswire VietNamNet reported that part of serious floods was caused by sudden water discharge by Ho Ho hydropower which is located in an area between Quang Binh and Ha Tinh, soaking in water nine communes in Huong Khe district. The water discharge with 1,800 cubic meters of water per second in four hours at a time when it was in heavy rain causing floods in every corners of the district, according to the newswire. Le Ngoc Huan, chairman of Huong Khe People’s Committee, said that the hydropower developer informed nothing about the discharge except for a phone call to a local official right before they released water. Releasing a large volume of water in night time has caused numerous damages to both human beings and crops, Mr. Huan said. According to VietNamNet, more than 60,000 children in Ha Tinh are unable to go to school. Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung said at a meeting on preparations for the typhoon quoted by the Vietnam Television (VTV) as saying that authorized agencies need to focus on searching for the missing. Dung urged authorities in 22 coastal provinces to reinforce key infrastructure projects and prepare evacuation plans, and assured them the government would provide food relief in flooded areas. Foreign media reported that typhoon Sarika, which is heading towards Vietnam’s East Sea with guts of beaufort scale 17, could bring more bad weather if it strikes Vietnam. (Thanhnien.vn Oct 16, VnExpress.net Oct 16, Reuters Oct 16, AP Oct 17)