HÀ NỘI — Thousands of houses and several hectares of vegetable crops in the northern provinces of Tuyên Quang and Hà Giang were reportedly damaged by large hailstones last weekend.

According to preliminary statistics from Hà Giang Province’s Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, the hailstones destroyed a house in Quản Bạ District, blew away the roofs of 21 houses and damaged 950 others.

As many as 19 welfare projects such as schools, teachers’ residences and medical stations in Quản Bạ, Yên Minh and Mèo Vạc districts were severely damaged.

The hail storm also seriously damaged nearly 140ha of vegetable crops, 50ha of medicinal crops of high economic value and nearly 900ha of corn crops.

A thunderstorm that occurred during the hail storm killed five buffaloes in Hoàng Su Phì District, with the damage estimated to be worth more than VNĐ130 million (US$5,780).

The total destruction to crops and property is estimated to be worth VNĐ15 billion ($667,000), the VietnamNews Agency reported.

In Tuyên Quang Province’s Chiêm Hóa District, the five-minute hail storm, with stones having an average diameter of 5cm to 10cm and some being even 15cm-wide, seriously damaged more than 2,000 houses and destroyed 300ha of vegetable crops. Tân Thịnh Commune was the hardest hit.

The authorities in these two localities are trying to help the residents to recover from the destruction.

Nguyễn Minh Tiến, deputy chairman of the people’s committee of Hà Giang Province, said the committee ordered authorised departments and sectors to take measures to help the people recover from the hail storm’s destruction.

Local authorities are preparing seed and fertiliser to help residents resume production. In addition, the province has stepped up efforts to warn local people about damage control in hail storms during the stormy season.

Officers have been sent to hail storm-hit areas to help people repair their houses’ roofs. The funds for house repair would come from the standby state budget, Nguyễn Công Hàm, from Tuyên Quang Province’s Hà Giang Province’s Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, told the Voice of Việt Nam (VOV) radio station. — VNS