Nghệ An Province authorities carry supplies to isolated areas. Photo giadinhonline.vn

NGHỆ AN - Hundreds of people from the flooded Kỳ Sơn District have been rescued thanks to the army, police and Nghệ An provincial authorities reaching them after prolonged heavy rains since September 4.

Only four households in Nam Tiến 2 Village, Bảo Nam Commune have been unaffected; the other 52 have been forced to evacuate.

Kỳ Sơn District People's Committee reported that by September 12, more than 160 houses were waterlogged, of which eight collapsed and 66 others were damaged.

Hundreds of hectares of crops and fish ponds were washed away by floods.

Bảo Nam Commune was the most affected locality, with 26 households destroyed and many cattle carried off. Prolonged heavy rains and landslides also caused many roads to be blocked and villages isolated.

Thò Bá Re, Deputy Chairman of Kỳ Sơn District People's Committee said many people cried as they watched their livestock and fields being submerged in the fast-flowing water.

Kỳ Sơn District People's Committee estimated that the severe flooding caused more than VNĐ70 billion in damage.

The district authorities have assisted people with a total of 3.7 tonnes of rice, 740 boxes of instant noodles, 740 bottles of fish sauce, and 1,000 packs of spices.

"The local authorities mobilised hundreds of police, army and youth unions officials to be on duty in landslide areas to help people promptly," said Thò Bá Re.

On September 12, the police force crossed the floodwaters to bring 500 boxes of instant noodles and 150kg of dried fish to people in the three most damaged communes of Bảo Nam, Bảo Thắng and Chiêu Lưu.

However, by the morning of September 13, Chairman of Chiêu Lưu Commune People's Committee La Đức Thoại said that more than 3,000 people in five villages were still isolated.

Complicating matters, the Chiêu Lưu -Bảo Thắng route suffered severe landslides, one house collapsed, five others were badly damaged, and more than 7ha of crops were deeply flooded. Nine households needed help evacuating.

"We are still trying to re-open the roads to supply food to flooded areas' residents. However, water lever at springs and streams are rising, and many areas have serious landslides, so it is very difficult to transport," Thoại said.

"We are sending more excavators, mobilising workers to work day and night, to clear the roads connecting the communes."

Heavy rains and flash floods have damaged Chiêu Lưu Commune's dams and irrigation works, causing around VNĐ10.5 billion of damage. VNS