Two people died due to the heavy rainfall which drenched much of the northern province of Quang Ninh yesterday and this morning.

This was announced by the provincial Office of the Steering Committee for Disaster Prevention and search and rescue teams.

The victims included Tran Van Thanh, 52, living in Hong Gai Ward, who was killed when a section of the embankment collapsed over him in his house’s kitchen.

The other victim was Hoang Thi Kha, 56, who was swept into the sewage system by flood waters in Gieng Day Ward.

Kha was hospitalised immediately at the Bai Chay Hospital but died at 1.30am this morning.

According to reports in the local newspaper, heavy rainfall has damaged the irrigation canal in Tiên Yên Ward.

Several roads in Cam Pha City and households in Cam Thach, Cam Phu and Cam Trung are flooded.

Many wards in aCity are also covered in deep water due to the heavy rainfall yesterday and this morning.

Several households in Ha Long and Cam Phả cities are covered with mud.

The newspaper reported that some households were covered in 2m-deep water, causing their furniture to rot.

The floods triggered by heavy rains have affected the movement of vehicles in some areas in the region, such as the Bai Chay tourism site, the Cai Lan industrial zone and Bach Dang Ward, and have also led to landslides in the Bai Chay and Hong Gai wards.

At 1am this morning, the water level dropped and traffic returned to normal.

Nearly 100 households in Ha Long and Cam Pha cities have been evacuated to safe places.

Nguyen Duc Long, chairman of the People’s Committee, inspected some flooded areas in Ha Long City.

The chairman asked the heads of some construction projects to stop their work and instead help drain water in the flooded areas.

Long also visited and provided solace to the families of victims, who were killed in the heavy rain yesterday.

The provincial authorities have sent an urgent message to local authorities to implement urgent measures to deal with the aftermath of the heavy rains, landslides and floods.

The provincial Hydro-Meteorology Forecasting Centre has forecast that torrential rainfall will continue for some hours.

Many local residents complained of inadequate construction planning of the city and a poor drainage system that did not match urban development

This was the reason for the floods in Ha Long City following the heavy downpour.

Last August, unprecedented heavy rainfall in the province claimed 17 lives and caused nearly VNĐ3 trillion (US$136.3 million) in damage.

VNS