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Heavy rain and flooding in the past few days have caused serious damage to many provinces in the northern mountainous region. |
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In Ha Giang, prolonged downpours in the early morning on September 12 inundated crops and houses. Nearly 200 households in the districts of Meo Vac, Bac Quang and Vi Xuyen have been flooded, while more than 223 hectares of rice and nearly 150 hectares of crops suffered the same fate, with Bac Quang District suffering the worst damage. Traffic has also been affected as dozens of roads in Meo Vac, Quang Binh and Bac Quang suffered from landslides. The preliminary statistics of damage caused by floods is more than VND1 billion (US$43,114). Immediately after the natural disaster occurred, local authorities mobilised forces to help people overcome consequences. Heavy rains in Luc Yen District, Yen Bai Province, caused stream waters to rise, sweeping away two bridges and damaging another. Landslides were reported in many localities; two buffaloes were killed; and over 30 hectares of rice and corn and many fishponds of households were submerged. The inter-commune route to Lam Thuong and Tan Phuong got blocked and inundated at some points. The Department of Education and Training of Bao Thang District (Lao Cai Province) said that prolonged downpours on September 11 caused landslides of about 150 cubic meters of soil and rock and completely destroyed the wall of a classroom at a local kindergarten, making the room unusable. Partial traffic congestion was reported on National Highway 279D (along the section from Son La Province to Lai Chau) as floodwater caused landslides at many locations along the route. On September 12, Son La announced that it is directing units to urgently overcome consequences and ensure traffic at some landslide locations, as well as requesting contractors to mobilize machines, put up road signs, and implement traffic separation. In Tuyen Quang Province, flooding on September 11 submerged 15 hectares of rice and 12 hectares of maize, and eroded an inter-commune road point in Nam Bun Village, Ha Lang Commune, Chiem Hoa District. A tornado on September 9 deroofed 18 houses in Gia Lai Province, with damage estimated at VND42 million (US$1,810). Shortly after the incident, the local steering committees for national disaster prevention and control directed relevant units to mobilise forces to address the consequences to stabilise the people’s lives. A heavy downpour on the evening of September 11 caused 80 houses in Long Ho District (Vinh Long Province) to have their roofs blown off or collapse. Currently, the province’s functional agencies are working to overcome the aftermath of the incident and help local people to stabilise their lives. According to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, showers and thunderstorms are forecast to occur in some northern provinces and Thanh Hoa Province on September 13. Mountainous localities in particular will witness heavy rains, with rainfall of 30-70mm per 24 hours. The precipitation may even climb to over 100mm per day in some locations in the provinces of Lai Chau, Dien Bien, Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Ha Giang and Tuyen Quang. Source: Nhan Dan Online
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