Flash floods and landslides triggered by downpours in the past days had left 19 dead, 11 missing and 12 injured in the northern mountainous provinces of Lai Chau and Ha Giang by 16:00 on June 26.

Of the victims, 14 people were killed, 11 others went missing and another person was injured in Lai Chau province, reported the Standing Office of the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control.

Floods also pulled down or swept away 124 houses, damaged 597 homes and submerged 1,500 others.

In addition, more than 1,200 hectares of rice and crops were inundated or destroyed, while 46 hectares of aquaculture were damaged and 196 cattle heads and over 5,900 poultry were killed.

Total damage was estimated at 443.8 billion VND (around 19.5 million USD), including 122 billion VND in Ha Giang, 300 billion VND in Lai Chau and the remainder in neighbouring provinces.

Traffic on many road sections in the provinces was interrupted as they were eroded or submerged.

Heavy rains have sparked floods and landslides in the northern mountainous provinces of Ha Giang and Lai Chau since June 23.

On June 26, Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung and officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development made a field trip to Lai Chau to inspect the post-flood work.

The Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control had issued a dispatch to instruct Lai Chau, Dien Bien, Ha Giang, Son La, Cao Bang, Bac Kan, Tuyen Quang, Yen Bai and Lao Cai provinces to enhance dissemination on natural disaster prevention through mass media, in Vietnamese and ethnic languages, in order to minimise losses due to rains and floods.

Earlier, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc also issued a dispatch asking relevant ministries, sectors and localities to focus resources on search and rescue along with activities to overcome flood consequences in northern mountainous and midland provinces.

The dispatch stressed need to safely operate reservoirs and ensure safety in dams and dykes routes in the affected localities, as well as smooth traffic on the key national roads.-VNA