VietNamNet Bridge - Flood death toll has risen to 46, with 21 people still missing and 18 injured in central Vietnam as of October 20, reported the Central Committee for Flood and Storm Control.

Of those, 16 deaths took place in Nghe An Province, 21 in Ha Tinh Province, eight in Quang Binh Province and one in Thanh Hoa Province. 

The committee also said there are still 115,000 houses under water in Ha Tinh while the number in Nghe An reaches 38,000. 17,000 families in Ha Tinh, 11,900 in Nghe An, and 10,600 in Quang Binh have been moved to safe grounds.

Nearly 20,000 soldiers, more than 300 motor-boats, and a helicopter have been deployed for rescue work.

Flood-affected provinces have asked the Government to provide 15,000 tonnes of rice, crop varieties, medicines and nearly VND3 trillion to repair the damage.

The floods have blocked traffic on roads and destroyed hundreds of hectares of subsidiary crops in Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces, resulting in commodity price increases of 200 to 500 percent.

The Government will ensure there is sufficient food for those affected by floods in the central provinces, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said while visiting Ha Tinh on October 20.

Dung urged the provinces of Ha Tinh, Quang Binh and Nghe An to continue their search and rescue operations. He urged officials to ensure flood victims had enough food and said they should mobilise all their resources to help repair houses and prevent the spread of disease. If any province allowed its people in flooded areas to go hungry, its leaders would be held responsible to the Party and State, he said.

The Prime Minister said VND660 billion had been allocated from the State budget to help flood victims. In addition, 11,000 tonnes of rice from the national reserve and five tonnes of instant noodles and dry provisions would be distributed to flood victims, he said.

On October 20, officials from the Office of the President and National Assembly deputies contributed money to flood victims. Meanwhile, overseas Vietnamese in the US state of Texas have donated $50,000 to flood victims. In addition, 11 international organisations have pledged emergency aid of $450,000.

Fishing out victims on the bus which was swept away on October 18:

Rescuers have found 14 bodies of 19 passengers missing in a bus that was swept away by flood waters in Ha Tinh Province on October 18.

Ten of the 14 bodies were found inside the bus after rescue forces pulled the vehicle out of the bed of the Lam River this morning, October 21. The four others were found previously.

Rescuers broke the windows of the bus to pull the 10 bodies out; two of which were of two babies. Several bodies have been identified, and then brought to their hometown for burial.

On Monday the vehicle that had been carrying 37 people was swept away by strong currents at the foot of a bridge in Nghi Xuan District. Local authorities said 18 people managed to get out by breaking the front windows and swam ashore, some by clinging to power poles. The public transport bus was traveling from the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong to the northern Nam Dinh Province when it was swept away.

The remaining passengers are presumed dead, police said, though the search for them has not been called off yet.

Life in the flood-hit region:

Flood in Huong Son district, Ha Tinh province.





At present, boats are the mean of transport in the central region.


Some young men are trying to save this motorbike from being swept away by flood.

 



The National Highway 1A, the section crossing Huong Khe district, Ha Tinh province.


Ferry service is very expensive. Passengers have to pay 50,000 dong for a motorbike.


The assets of many evacuators are only blankets or clothes.




Cattle and poultry are the first things central people try to rescue.

 

This woman has had to evacuated twice this month. She only wants to return home.


The price for vegetable has increased several times.


A woman and her daughter live on a boat.


This man is rowing in his home.


This man is happy because he has bought a gas cylinder.

Hunders of tents like this have been built on La Giang Dike, Ha Tinh province, as home to evacuators.


This man is preparing the dinner in a tent.


Landslide in Huong Son district, Ha Tinh province.


The dike around Ngan Sau river in Ha Tinh province was broken. Several kilometer of railways was swept away.


A wedding on boats.


Living on the roof.