Heavy rain from typhoon Kujira raised river water levels and caused flash floods in the northern mountainous province of Son La on June 24, claiming at least three lives, including a four-year-old child, the provincial Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Control reported.

Soldiers in northern Hai Phong City's Do Son District help fishermen anchor their vessels as Typhoon Kujira, the first storm of the year, made landfall on the Quang Ninh-Thai Binh coast yesterday.

More than 20 houses, 79ha of rice paddy and food crops were damaged or swept away, while the local road network also suffered from extensive damage.

A woman drowned after falling into a lake in Hai Duong province as all streets were submerged under water, bringing the fatalities from Kujira to four as of June 25 morning.

In the northern coastal province of Quang Ninh, ten crew members on board four barges that lost anchor during the storm were rescued by Van Don district border patrol forces. They were taken to Ngoc Vung Border Post to receive medical care while soldiers tried to retrieve the barges.

The provincial authorities banned all vessels from going out to sea from June 23 and asked residents to move aquaculture cages to safer places.

By early morning the same day, more than 8,000 vessels safely returned to shore. All are on alert to minimise damage from possible flash floods and landslides.

Provincial residents were ordered to leave landslide-prone areas to safer places. In Quang Yen district, the town mobilised thousands of volunteers to place sandbags along the dyke.

In Thai Binh province, the Border Defence Command told 1,218 vessels still at sea and 3,325 aquaculture workers to return to shore.

Thousands of residents, who lived outside local dykes and by the coast were told to move into storm shelters.

The worst flooding in decades affected many sites in Thai Binh city as well as Kien Xuong and Tien Hai districts. Locals used sandbags and wooden planks to block the water from entering homes.

Nam Dinh province ordered 2,000 ships and boats to anchor in safety while owners of aquaculture farms have been provided with the latest storm information.

The storm brought heavy rains to Hai Phong city, injuring one and sinking two ships anchored in Bach Long Vy Island.

Floods are forecast for rivers in the Hong-Thai Binh system on June 25-26, and in provinces from Thanh Hoa to Ha Tinh.

According to the National Centre for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting, the storm has weakened into a tropical storm area on June 25 morning with wind speed of below 40km per hour.

VNA