Several mountainous Northern provinces are suffering heavy damages caused by flooding and landslides, due to heavy rain in the region over the past few days, negatively effecting the lives of the local population.

Flooding causes landslide on a part of Highway 4D connecting Lai Chau with Lao Cai province.

Lai Chau provincial Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office said that as of Wednesday morning, the floods had left three dead and missing, while dozens of houses and roads were damaged from landslides and 27 irrigation works were also damaged. Nearly 275 ha of rice, maize, cardamom and fish ponds were also washed away, with the total estimated damage standing at VND25 billion.

Flooding swept away a temporary bridge across a stream, isolating more than 100 households and two campuses of Nam Tra Primary and Preschool in Nam Tra village, Nam Tra commune, Nam Nhun district.

High flood water also caused a temporary suspension bridge to turn over, in Na Phat village, Phuc Than commune, Than Uyen district, leading to more than 170 households, with over 1,000 people, becoming isolated.

In Xe Nam village, Nam Xe commune, Phong Tho district, 88 households were isolated for over a week due to flooding. Villagers are in a very difficult situation as all of their essential belongings must be collected and transported by truck from Mo village across the stream.

Vu Van Luat, deputy director of the province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that the provincial Steering Committee for Disaster Prevention and Search and Rescue has directed the relevant authorities to set up inter-branch missions to facilitate mitigation work at localities in the province, while encouraging the local people to promptly implement the necessary measures to cope with and overcome the consequences of natural disasters.

* In Mu Cang Chai district, Yen Bai province, as of July 5, according to incomplete statistics, 271 houses were damaged or crumbled, concentrated in the communes of Mo De, Ho Bon, Che Cu Nha, Nam Khat, De Xu Phinh, Kim Noi, Lao Chai and La Pan Tan.

* In Dien Bien province, on the route connecting Dien Bien Dong town and Na Son commune, floods damaged the Na Phat underground work, making it impassable for motorised vehicles. Local people and rudimentary vehicles are temporarily using a suspension bridge for travel.

In Tua Chua district, heavy rain caused landslides with a volume of more than 2,000 cubic metres of land and rock, jamming local traffic in inter-commune and inter-village roads. Floods caused two houses in De Chu village (Tua Thang) to collapse and buried over 150 m of irrigation canals.

* According to the Tuyen Quang province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the province has 90 communes located in the high risk areas for disaster. Every year, the province has more than 100 households that are forced to evacuate urgently. In 2017, 90 households have had to move.

* In the southern province of Binh Duong, the discharge of Dau Tieng reservoir flooded 30 ha of rubber trees in Nui Dat hamlet, Dinh Thanh commune, of which 15 ha had to stop harvesting.

* On Tuesday night, heavy rains with cyclones in Vinh Trach Dong Commune, Bac Lieu city (Bac Lieu Province) unroofed 16 houses, seriously effecting the lives of local people.

* On July 5-7, Phu Yen provincial People's Committee held a press conference to announce the causes of a massive death of lobsters in Xuan Phuong commune and Xuan Yen ward (Song Cau town).

Accordingly, the cause was due to a polluted farming environment, with large amounts of decomposed organic substances, leading to a microflora species consuming a large amount of oxygen in water, while the lobster density was too high. The death of the lobsters is not related to the discharge of Nguyen Hung seafood processing factory.

The provincial People's Committee has reported to the Prime Minister and other relevant ministries and branches for special mechanisms in the support of lobster farmers, while advising the provincial Party Committee and People's Council to issue policies in order to support local people.

Nhan Dan