Heavy downpours and floods triggered by typhoon Son Tinh has left 13 dead, 11 missing and 14 others injured in northern and north central provinces by 6am on July 21.

Heavy downpours and floods triggered by typhoon Son Tinh has left 13 dead, 11 missing and 14 others injured in northern and north central provinces by 6am on July 21 

Of the victims, 10 deaths and nine missing victims were in Yen Bai province while two deaths and two missing in Thanh Hoa, and one death in Hoa Binh, reported the Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control of those localities.

Floods also damaged 105 homes and submerged nearly 3,330 others. In addition, more than 1,000 families had to flee.

According to the Crop Production Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the areas of inundated rice were about 39,000 hectares in the Red River Delta and 13,270 hectares in north central region. 

Besides, over 12,100 hectares of crops were damaged and 16,890 head of cattle and poultry were killed.

As of July 20, national roads affected by the typhoon were fixed. However, various provincial roads in Yen Bai, Lao Cai and Thanh Hoa were still submerged.

On July 20-21, Hoa Binh recorded rainfall of 179mm in Da Bac district, 114mm in Dan Ha commune of Ky Son district and 116.8mm in Xuan Phong commune of Cao Phong district. 

Families living in landslide-prone areas in Da Bac district’s Tien Phong commune were safely evacuated. 

Meanwhile, heavy rains caused severe landslides in Mai Chau, damaging many houses and local roads. The district Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control is working to bring 29 households in high-risk areas to safer places.

According to Director of the National Centre for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting Hoang Duc Cuong, from July 23, extremely heavy rains are forecast in the northeastern region, mostly in Quang Ninh and Lang Son, which will then spread to the whole northern region from July 24-27. 

Downpour hitting northern region, causing widespread flooding

Traffic on Thai Ha street in Dong Da district of Hanoi struggles following the downpour 

Heavy rain continued to batter the northern region overnight, causing widespread flooding.

A few days after typhoon Son Tinh passed, a low-pressure belt remains active causing the downpours.

Many of Hanoi’s streets were flooded resulting in traffic problems overnight. In some places, vehicles had to negotiate through several centimetres of water.

According to the Hanoi drainage company, Bac Tu Liem, Thanh Xuan and Ha Dong areas received the highest rainfall so far, ranging from 140mm to nearly 200mm since.

There were similar issues around Hoan Kiem, Tay Ho and Dong Da districts.

No falling trees or broken branches were reported and the sewage and dyke systems in the city functioned normally.

The Hanoi drainage company also said water levels in ditches and rivers across Hanoi (Nhue, Day, Tich rivers or Cau Nga channel) were rising, but due to their poor drainage conditions, the company is using all pumps at maximum capacity to prevent further problems.

Floods were also reported to threaten nearly 700 hectares of newly cultivated rice fields in Hanoi. Already 98ha of rice fields in the rural districts of Ba Vi and Quoc Oai is completely under water.

Similarly, in the coastal province of Quang Ninh, several residential areas in Ha Long and Cam Pha cities were flooded.

According to Nguyen Hong Duong, Chairman of Cam Pha city, a 500m section at the But pass-km15 of the National Road 18A, connecting Ha Long and Cam Pha, is under 1.5-2m of water and traffic was stopped from going through.

The But pass section regularly suffers from flooding especially after heavy rains, despite the province’s efforts to alleviate the situation.

Rainstorms are forecast to continue throughout the day, with northern mountainous provinces of Son La, Lai Chau, Hoa Binh receiving the brunt of the downpours.

VNA