Two people died and thousands of houses were inundated yesterday as floodwater continues to rise in the central provinces of Quang Binh and Ha Tinh. Flooding also occurred in late afternoon in Quang Tri.

In Quang Binh, Tran Minh Hoach, a resident of Quang Trach District, drowned while attempting to rescue his fishing boat while Du Van Thu, a resident of Ba Don District, was swept away by strong currents when he was on the way to get donation food.

A report by the Quang Binh Centre of Flood, Storm Prevention and Rescuing said 4,000 houses, mostly in the low-lying areas of Ba Don, Tuyen Hoa and Quang Trach districts were flooded.

According to authorities of Quang Trung Commune, floodwater has engulfed houses, reaching up to a half of their height. Meanwhile, residents rushed to move their belongings, cattle and poultry to safe places in the mountains to avoid a repeat of the damage that occurred in early October.

Life for the locals has been very difficult, as they have had to work quickly to deal with the second flood to hit them within a month.

Fortunately, 19 people were rescued successfully from boat and car wrecks. Strong flood flows upturned two fishing boats when they were travelling near Giang River’s estuary. In another case, a truck carrying six people on board was turned over, but those passengers were saved.

Meanwhile, a whirlwind occurred early yesterday’s morning in Quang Binh’s Le Thuy District, blowing away the roofs of some 100 houses and damaging hundreds of hectares of rice and vegetables.

In Ha Tinh, local authorities in the districts of Huong Khe and Ky Anh deployed community security men to assist residents in transferring cattle and poultry from flooded areas to safer places.

A report by the local education sector said 30,000 students of 84 schools in the province were forced to stay home.

A total of 2,700 houses in five districts of Ha Tinh soaked 1.5m in floodwater, with some lying in the lower part of Ke Go Reservoir and Rac River inundated in higher water level. According to Nguyen Van Viet, deputy chairman of Huong Khe District, a house collapsed from floodwater has blocked roadway traffic entirely at the locality.

In Quang Tri, a strong, swift flood came suddenly yesterday morning and soaked 2,000 houses in Cam Lo District in water. Ngo Quang Chien, the district chairman said the flood appeared so fast in within 15 minutes, shocking local residents.

None were able to rescue their belongings while some others were forced to climb up trees to save their lives from 3m high strong current. Local public security deployed their staff urgently to the site to assist affected residents.

Local people suspected that the flood caused by unannounced water release from power reservoirs.

Heavy rainfall also continued in the provinces, and the Ho Hô power plant, which is located between Quang Binh and Ha Tinh, has not stopped releasing water.

The latest forecast report by the National Centre for Meteorology and Hydrology Forecast has warned of a flood risk in the central provinces from Quang Tri to Phu Yen, with heavy rains continuing to pour down in the region in the next three days. It also forecast swift and higher water levels in Ha Tinh’s Ngan Sau and Ngan Pho rivers, Quang Binh’s Gianh and Kien Giang rivers, and Quang Tri’s Thach Han river.

Central region to continue suffering one more severe flash flood

A cold front will strengthen in the northern region which outputted the atmospheric lowest temperature at 18- 20 degrees Celsius in the northern delta region, below 17 degrees Celsius in the mountainous areas, even dropping down 13. 5 degrees Celsius in Sa Pa town of Lao Cai from November 1, reported the National Hydrology Meteorology Forecast Center. 

A severe flash flood is forecast to occur in the central region.

The recent cold airs have brought very heavy and heavy rains in the central provinces.

The weather condition is forecast to continue causing the long- lasting heavy rains and a severe flash flood in the central region.

From November 1- 5, the flood will threaten to river systems from Nghe An to Ninh Thuan.

The National Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention, Search and Rescue asked the coastal provinces from Nghe An to Ninh Thuan and relevant ministries, departments and agencies to keep an eye on the weather and provide the most correct and timely information about the bad weather to residents.

Deep cloud and medium- heavy rains will cover over the southern region during this month.

Flood in the central region:

A submerged house in Quang Hai commune, Ba Don town, Quang Binh province in a photo taken at 7:00 am on November 1, 2016.  Quang Hai commune, Ba Don town becomes isolated by flood.  Flood submerges Quang Hai Commune in Ba Don Town Locals in Quang Hai commune take their buffaloes to a higher place. A school in Ky Anh commune, Quang Binh province The Gianh River, Quang Binh province A house in Ky Anh commune Quang Hai market, near the Gianh River Gianh River

VNN/VNA/SGGP