HÀ NỘI — Hailstorms and whirlwinds have plagued many localities over the past few days, causing a number of injuries and fatalities and damaging thousands of houses, officials reported.

Hailstorms killed one person and injured two others in the northern mountainous province of Hà Giang on Tuesday, according to the provincial steering committee on natural disasters. The hail destroyed houses in Yên Minh District, killing a three-year-old boy and injuring a 23-year-old woman. Meanwhile, a 78-year-old woman from Mèo Vạc District was injured by a falling tree. The southern province of Bình Phước also suffered losses estimated at VNĐ5 billion (US$225,000) due to the collapse of houses and other facilities, caused by the whirlwinds.

On Wednesday, heavy rains accompanied by whirlwinds and lightning killed one person and injured two others in the northern mountainous province of Lai Châu, in addition to damaging 419 houses and 15 classrooms in the Mường Tè and Tam Đường districts. More than 50ha of crops were destroyed.

Torrential rains accompanied by whirlwinds also damaged hundreds of houses, killed local cattle and destroyed dozens of hectares of crops in the northern mountainous provinces of Tuyên Quang and Điện Biên and the central province of Thanh Hóa, as well as the central Highlands province of Gia Lai.

Local authorities of these localities have sent working teams to the affected areas to provide timely assistance to the local people and guide prompt efforts to help them recover in the aftermath. 

In Thanh Hóa Province, local authorities provided households that suffered great losses from the disasters VNĐ3 million each, while in Gia Lai Province, each affected household received financial aid of between VNĐ500,000 and VNĐ1 million.

The National Hydro-meteorological Forecast Centre has warned localities in the north and northern central regions to stay alert for possible hailstorms and whirlwinds over the next few days and to take preparatory measures to reduce any damages. — VNS