Eight dead, 3 missing after flash floods in Vietnam

Hanoi, Aug 2 (IANS) Eight people have died and three others remain missing following flash floods and landslides in recent days in Vietnam's northern province of Dien Bien, local media reported on Saturday.

As of 6 a.m. Saturday, around 60 houses had been swept away or damaged by floodwaters, according to the Vietnam Disaster and Dyke Management Authority.

Thirty villages remain isolated due to disrupted traffic.

Nearly 700 personnel, including police, military forces, local militia and members of various mass organisations, have been deployed to search for the missing, Xinhua reported, quoting Vietnam News Agency.

During a field visit to Xa Dung commune on Saturday morning, Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha urged local authorities to act swiftly to ensure that no resident is left hungry, cut off for extended periods, or without access to information.

He emphasised that the safety of both rescue workers and flood-affected residents must be guaranteed under all circumstances.

These flash floods come just weeks after Typhoon Wipha struck coastal areas between Hung Yen and Ninh Binh provinces of Vietnam, sustaining maximum winds of 88 km per hour, equivalent to level 8-9 on the Beaufort scale, with gusts reaching level 11, according to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

A suspension bridge in Dien Bien province partially collapsed due to prolonged heavy rains, injuring four people, according to local media reports.

Power outages were reported in parts of Tien Hai commune in Hung Yen province.

Meanwhile, central provinces such as Thanh Hoa and Nghe An recorded rainfall of 150 to 200 mm.

The effect of Typhoon Wipha, the third tropical storm to hit Vietnam so far this year, damaged 357 houses while inundating more than 400 hectares of rice fields and other crops across the province, the report added.

--IANS

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