A roof of a house in Lý Sơn Island, off the coast of Quảng Ngãi Province, is damaged after Storm Molave on Wednesday. Photo courtesy Nguyễn Văn Được

CENTRAL REGION — Storm Molave, which hit central Việt Nam on Wednesday, blew the roofs off or damaged 84,600 houses in the central provinces of Thừa Thiên-Huế, Quảng Nam, Quảng Ngãi and Đà Nẵng city, and left 24 people injured and two others missing.

Local disaster agencies in the region said 12 fishing boats were sunken during the storm that ravaged the region from early morning till late evening.

Floodwaters approach the front yard of a house on the Trà Khúc River in Quảng Ngãi City. Photo courtesy Bùi Thanh Trung

More than 9,000 trees and 47ha of forest were also damaged, while 48 fishing farms in Quảng Ngãi Province were completely destroyed. The province, which bore the brunt of the storm, saw heavy damage to 84,499 houses.

Quảng Ngãi will also struggle against floods after the storm, with 24 communes in four districts on the banks of the Trà Khúc, Vệ and Trà Câu rivers submerged in water from 0.5m to 2m since Wednesday night.

Meanwhile, lowland areas in Quảng Nam Province, which have not yet recovered from floods in the previous two weeks, will receive more water from upstream hydropower plants.

The province said 12 of 17 reservoirs are full of water, while the reservoir of the Đắk Mi 4 began releasing water at a speed of 4,000 cubic metres per second from Wednesday.

Serious erosion also damaged the coastal line in Phú Vang, Phong Điền and Phú Lộc districts in Thừa Thiên-Huế Province per the latest report from the province released on Thursday.

A road section in a mountainous area of Quảng Nam Province was eroded. Photo courtesy Đỗ Quân

Erosion, which resulted from floods and heavy rain two weeks ago, became more serious as 10km of coastal areas in the districts were encroached from 7m to 10m.

An army unit clean a coastal road in Đà Nẵng as part of support activities after Typhoon Molave hit the central region. VNS Photo Lê Lâm

Water also eroded 250m along the Bồ riverbank in Hương Trà Town, threatening a large area of protection forest.

Đà Nẵng City has called for support from army units and public security as well as volunteers to clean coastal areas and storm-damaged houses. — VNS