Ongoing rains and floods have left another seven dead or injured in the northern provinces of Dien Bien, Lai Chau and Son La, reported the Office of the National Steering Committee on Disaster Prevention and Control on August 2.

The downpour collapsed over 200 houses and 84 irrigational facilities, submerged 2,500 hectares of rice, killed more than 11,500 heads of cattle and damaged 11 kilometres of canals, six reservoirs and a number of roads.

In an urgent Prime Minister’s notice issued on August 2, municipal and provincial authorities, ministries and agencies need to implement recovery efforts, including search-and-rescue, food and necessity provisions for victim households, monitoring landslide and flood-prone areas, and deploying medical staff for environmental clean-up and epidemic prevention.

The National Committee for Search and Rescue, the Ministry of National Defence and the Ministry of Public Security were asked to direct their units stationed in affected areas to support local residents in the wake of the disaster.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is to assist localities with safely operating dams, draining water and protecting agriculture production.

The Ministry of Transport is responsible for ensuring smooth traffic flow on national highways and dealing with possible incidents on major roads.

In collaboration with the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has been asked to come up with a plan to help workers at the Vietnam National Coal – Mineral Industries Group resume work.

According to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, moderate-to-heavy rains will continue from August 2-4.

Floods will also occur in the Red-Thai Binh river system, up to 3-5 metres.

There is a high risk of floods and landslides in the northern mountainous provinces of Quang Ninh, Ha Giang, Tuyen Quang, Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Phu Tho, Lai Chau, Dien Bien, Son La and Hoa Binh.

Low-lying areas in Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, Thai Binh and Nam Dinh are vulnerable to inundation.

PM's instructions

In an urgent notice issues yesterday by the Prime Minister, municipal and provincial authorities, ministries and agencies were instructed to implement recovery efforts, including search-and-rescue, food and necessity provisions for affected households, monitoring of landslide- and flood-prone areas, and deployment of medical staff for environmental clean-up and epidemic prevention.

The National Committee for Search and Rescue, the Ministry of National Defence and the Ministry of Public Security were asked to direct their units stationed in affected areas to support local residents in the wake of the disaster.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is to assist localities with safely operating dams, draining water and protecting agriculture production.

The Ministry of Transport is responsible for ensuring smooth traffic flow along national highways and dealing with possible incidents on major roads.

In collaboration with the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has been asked to come up with a plan to help workers at the Viet Nam National Coal-Mineral Industries Group in resuming work.

More rains to come

According to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, moderate-to-heavy rains will continue until tomorrow.

Floods will also occur in the Red River and Thai Binh River system, with a height of up to three to five metres.

There is a high risk of flash floods and landslides in the northern provinces of Quang Ninh, Ha Giang, Tuyen Quang, Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Phu Tho, Lai Chau, Dien Bien, Son La and Hoa Binh.

Low-lying areas in Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, Thai Binh and Nam Dinh are vulnerable to inundation.

The centre has also forecast three to four spells of hard and medium rains in the north in August as it is normally the main rainy season in the region. It has warned about risks of flash floods and landslides, especially in mountainous areas.

The central region is forecast to have one to two spells of heat but not on a large scale and ones that will not last long as had happened in July. Drought may still happen in some areas in the Central and the South, the centre said.

Lack of electricity

In another news, the Electricity of Viet Nam (EVN) has warned of a possible power shortage since coal mining has been halted currently due to torrential rains and floods.

The announcement came after the Viet Nam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group (TKV) said the supply of coal may run out while the transportation of coal was stopped due to the rains.

According to EVN, the main source of coal supply from Quang Ninh, which has the biggest reserves of coal in the country, is now inundated. The Quang Ninh Thermo Power Plant is reported to have just enough coal to keep running for seven more days. The Uong Bi Thermo Power Plant, however, still has coal to run for 20 days.

The EVN called upon people throughout the country to economise the consumption of electricity to reduce pressure on power supply.  

VNA/VNS