VietNamNet Bridge – Two people were killed and dozens of others were injured after whirlwinds battered Bac Lieu and Soc Trang provinces in the Mekong Delta on August 1.

Heavy downpours accompanied by strong winds hit Phuoc Long and Hong Dan districts in Bac Lieu at 06.00am, damaging more than 120 houses.

Nearly 50 houses collapsed entirely, and a house in Vinh Phu Dong Commune of Phuoc Long District fell down, killing 76-year-old Phan Thi Be, a local resident.

Vinh Phu Dong commune was the hardest hit, with 60 houses severely damaged by the natural disaster, according to Lai Thanh An, an official of the provincial Committee for Flood and Storm Control.

The whirlwinds swept across Soc Trang, tearing hundreds of roofs off houses in Thanh Tri and My Xuyen districts.

A house also collapsed in Phu Loc Town, killing a man who was visiting his neighbour.

Nearly 40 people were admitted to Thanh Tri District General Hospital with injuries to their heads, legs and arms.

In Thanh Tri and My Xuyen districts, as many as 311 houses were damaged, of which 96 collapsed. More than 30 people were injured in Phu Loc town and 14 others in Thanh Phu Commune.

Many electric posts and old trees were brought down along National Highway 1A that runs through these districts.

Local authorities provided financial assistance for the bereaved, and instructed volunteer forces to accelerate their clean-up efforts.

VietNamNet/VOV online