More than 10,000 houses were inundated by floods in the central province of Quảng Bình. —VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc yesterday ordered the Ministry of Finance to allocate 5,000 tonnes of rice from the national reserves to the flood-hit provinces of Quảng Bình, Quảng Trị, Thừa Thiên Huế and Quảng Nam.

Phúc assigned the people's committees of the four provinces to ensure timely support for residents in those areas after they had received the rice.

In a related movement, the Government Office yesterday held a fundraiser to support people in the central region.

PM Phúc, deputy prime ministers Trương Hòa Bình, Phạm Bình Minh, Vũ Đức Đam, Trịnh Đình Dũng and Government Office and staff participated in the ceremony.

Speaking at the ceremony, chairman of the Government Office Mai Tiến Dũng said the office had organised the fundraiser to alleviate suffering in the flood-hit areas and help people return to daily life.

Also yesterday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs held a fundraising ceremony to assist residents of the central region who have been suffering from two recent typhoons.

Deputy Foreign Minister Bùi Thanh Sơn said with the country’s spirit of “a whole leaf covers torn ones”, officials and staff from the ministry donated to the cause.

The ministry’s trade union would distribute the donations, he said.

Bắc Giang Province’s Việt Nam Fatherland Front yesterday launched “Action Month For The Poor” and called upon local people to support people in the central region.

The agency quickly received pledges worth over VNĐ64 billion (US$2.7 million) from local businesses and kind-hearted people.

In another move, the Japanese Government through the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) has sent emergency relief to support people who were severely hit by the floods in the central province of Thừa Thiên - Huế.

The emergency relief, worth over $123,000, includes 50 water purifiers.

The Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control has been urgently working with local administrations to transport emergency relief to people in flood-hit areas as soon as possible.

Data from the committee shows that as of yesterday morning, 90 people were killed and 34 others were still missing due to the floods in the central region.

All missing bodies recovered

The bodies of all of the 22 soldiers and officers missing in a severe landslide in Hướng Hóa District, central Quảng Trị Province were found on the same day.

The landslide hit the military barracks of the Economic and National Defence Group, Division 337 of the Military Region 4 in early hours of Sunday morning and buried 22 soldiers and officers.

In spite of non-stop rain in the central region, hundreds of people have been searching for the bodies. 

Lieutenant General Nguyễn Tân Cương, Deputy Minister of National Defence, said ambulances had accessed the area on Monday morning to move the dead bodies out of the rubble.

Bodies of the deceased found on Sunday will be transferred to Đông Hà City.

The biggest obstacle now was prolonged rain and further risks of flash flood and more landslides, he said.

Ensure safety for downstream area

The Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control on Monday asked Hà Tĩnh Province to be ready for the plan to spill over the Kẻ Gỗ Lake and urgently ensure safety for downstream areas.

The province also needs to assign task forces, means and equipment to evacuate people in flooded areas due to the typhoon and also due to the impact of water spilling over in Kẻ Gỗ Lake.

It must organise forces and instructions for overflowing underground, deeply flooded and isolated areas to ensure traffic safety.

Due to heavy rain and flooding, levels in rivers and reservoirs in Hà Tĩnh Province increased rapidly. From 10am on Sunday to 8am on Monday, the water level upstream of Kẻ Gỗ Lake rose from 29m to 33.6m, which is 1.1m above the normal level. Water flowing to the lake is over 1,500cu.m per second. From 9am on Monday, the lake had to discharge water at a maximum level, about 1,000cu.m per second. — VNS