CENTRAL REGION — Two people died and thousands of houses were inundated yesterday as floodwater continues to rise in the central provinces of Quảng Bình and Hà Tĩnh. Flooding also occurred in late afternoon in Quảng Trị.

In Quảng Bình, Trần Minh Hoạch, a resident of Quảng Trạch District, drowned while attempting to rescue his fishing boat while Dư Văn Thử, a resident of Ba Đồn District, was swept away by strong currents when he was on the way to get donation food.

A report by the Quảng Bình Centre of Flood, Storm Prevention and Rescuing said 4,000 houses, mostly in the low-lying areas of Ba Đồn, Tuyên Hóa and Quảng Trạch districts were flooded.

According to authorities of Quảng Trung Commune, floodwater has engulfed houses, reaching up to a half of their height. Meanwhile, residents rushed to move their belongings, cattle and poultry to safe places in the mountains to avoid a repeat of the damage that occurred in early October.

Life for the locals has been very difficult, as they have had to work quickly to deal with the second flood to hit them within a month.

Fortunately, 19 people were rescued successfully from boat and car wrecks. Strong flood flows upturned two fishing boats when they were travelling near Giang River’s estuary. In another case, a truck carrying six people on board was turned over, but those passengers were saved.

Meanwhile, a whirlwind occurred early yesterday’s morning in Quảng Bình’s Lệ Thủy District, blowing away the roofs of some 100 houses and damaging hundreds of hectares of rice and vegetables.

In Hà Tĩnh, local authorities in the districts of Hương Khê and Kỳ Anh deployed community security men to assist residents in transferring cattle and poultry from flooded areas to safer places.

A report by the local education sector said 30,000 students of 84 schools in the province were forced to stay home.

A total of 2,700 houses in five districts of Hà Tĩnh soaked 1.5m in floodwater, with some lying in the lower part of Kẻ Gỗ Reservoir and Rác River inundated in higher water level. According to Nguyễn Văn Việt, deputy chairman of Hương Khê District, a house collapsed from floodwater has blocked roadway traffic entirely at the locality.

In Quảng Trị, a strong, swift flood came suddenly yesterday morning and soaked 2,000 houses in Cam Lộ District in water. Ngô Quang Chiến, the district chairman said the flood appeared so fast in within 15 minutes, shocking local residents.

None were able to rescue their belongings while some others were forced to climb up trees to save their lives from 3m high strong current. Local public security deployed their staff urgently to the site to assist affected residents.

Local people suspected that the flood caused by unannounced water release from power reservoirs.

Heavy rainfall also continued in the provinces, and the Hố Hô power plant, which is located between Quảng Bình and Hà Tĩnh, has not stopped releasing water.

The latest forecast report by the National Centre for Meteorology and Hydrology Forecast has warned of a flood risk in the central provinces from Quảng Trị to Phú Yên, with heavy rains continuing to pour down in the region in the next three days. It also forecast swift and higher water levels in Hà Tĩnh’s Ngàn Sâu and Ngàn Phố rivers, Quảng Bình’s Gianh and Kiến Giang rivers, and Quảng Trị’s Thạch Hãn river. — VNS