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Death toll from Vietnam floods, landslides rise to 72 with more deadly landslides forecasted
From:Xinhua  |  2017-10-16 19:25

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HANOI, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- After a week of experiencing flash floods and landslides triggered by downpour, which has claimed 72 lives and left 30 others missing, Vietnam's northern and central regions are likely to confront more deadly landslides amid Typhoon Khanun.

The Landslides and floods also left 30 people missing and 33 others injured, the committee said on Monday.

A cold spell plus the impact of a potential tropical depression after Typhoon Khanun is causing rain till the end of Tuesday in the two regions. The rainfall ranges from 25 to over 100 mm, according to Vietnam's National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting on Monday.

In the mountainous northern region, landslides are likely to occur in the eight provinces of Lang Son, Cao Bang, Bac Kan, Thai Nguyen, Ha Giang, Tuyen Quang, Lao Cai and Yen Bai.

At a meeting of the country's Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control last Saturday, the committee's chairman, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong, warned that the mountainous northern region and the northern part of the central region have undergone a spell of heavy rain and flooding, so an additional downpour with rainfall of 100-200 mm is enough to cause unpredictable consequences.

On Sunday, Hoa Binh authorities announced the state of emergency about landslides in the province.

In Hoa Binh's Tan Lac district last Thursday, a landslide buried 18 local people from four families, the committee said, noting that by Monday morning, 13 bodies had been found.

From now to the end of this year, there will be four typhoons and tropical depressions in the South China Sea, of which two can affect Vietnam's central and southern regions, forecast the center.

Now, water levels in Hong, Thai Binh and Hoang Long rivers in the northern region, and those in Buoi and Ca rivers in the central region are retreating.

Meanwhile, water levels in reservoirs of hydroelectric plants and irrigation works have returned normal. Big hydroelectric plants in the four northern provinces of Son La, Hoa Binh, Tuyen Quang and Yen Bai have no longer had to discharge water in their reservoirs.

According to the Water Resource Directorate under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the northern region has 2,984 irrigation reservoirs, and the northern part of the central region houses 1,920 irrigation reservoirs.

Central Thanh Hoa province has repaired three reservoirs damaged by heavy rain last week, and northern Hoa Binh province has done the same with two reservoirs.

The Dyke Management Department under the Water Resource Directorate said on Monday that during the spell of heavy rain and flooding from Oct. 10-13, there were 170 dyke incidents, including landslides, leaks and water overflows, at a total of 46.9 kms of dykes in Hanoi capital city, central Thanh Hoa province and the four northern provinces of Ha Nam, Nam Dinh, Thai Binh and Ninh Binh.

On Sunday, Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh inspected important dykes in Thanh Hoa.

The committee's office is now working around the clock to monitor the progress of downpour, Typhoon Khanun and tropical depressions, urge cities and provinces to cope with natural disasters more effectively, and calculate the localities' new demand for animal and plant varieties to restore agricultural production.

By Monday morning, border forces from northern Quang Ninh province to central Phu Yen province had alerted 309,300 fishermen about Typhoon Kanun's moving paths, according to Vietnam's Border Defense Force Command.

The floods also destroyed or inundated over 49,600 houses and many road sections in the provinces, and killed or swept away 9,300 cattle and over 290,500 fowls.

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