ĐÀ NẴNG — Heavy rains and strong wind caused erosion and isolated mountainous areas in Quảng Ngãi, Bình Định, Ninh Thuận and Kon Tum provinces over the last two days.

The Centre of Flood and Storm Prevention in the Central and Central Highlands regions reported 24 landslides on 10 roads along a total of 5.2km in Sơn Tây District of Quảng Ngãi Province on November 2, while 11 rural roads were eroded in Vĩnh Thạnh and Hoài Ân districts of Bình Định Province. Four bridges collapsed.

Floods also isolated two communes - Đắk Đrinh and Đăk Nên - in Kon Tum Province when a bridge spanning the Đăk Chờ stream was submerged.

The centre also said over 1,200 houses were flooded.

Quảng Ngãi Province banned all ships from operating but two fishing boats sank in the sea off Thanh Hóa Province on Tuesday.

Reservoirs in the south central region are 50 to 70 per cent full, but some are overfull, including Thạch Bàn in Quảng Nam, are at 113 per cent capacity, Suối Trầu in Khánh Hòa with 108 per cent.

Some reservoirs in the Central Highlands provinces also recorded a high water capacity, including Đắk Uy in Kon Tum (90 per cent), Ia Hrung in Gia Lai (102 per cent), Đạ Tẻ (124 per cent), Đạ Hàm (104 per cent) in Lâm Đồng, and Ea Soup Thượng (102 per cent) in Đắk Lắk Province.

Floodgates were opened on Wednesday under strict supervision at three hydropower plant reservoirs - Sông Bung 4, Đăk Mi 4 and Sông Tranh 2.

Water rose up to flood banks of the Hoài River in Hội An City on Wednesday.

The city said preparations have been made for dealing with flood in the old quarters, while safety measures were in place at hotels and resorts to protect tourists.

The Centre of Flood and Storm Prevention in the Central and Central Highlands regions also warned that rainfall of between 50 and 100mm is forecast from Quảng Ngãi to Bình Định provinces on November 3-4, while some areas in Phú Yên Province would see over 250mm of rain.

Landslides could occur in mountainous areas from Quảng Nam to Khánh Hòa provinces and in the Central Highlands of Gia Lai, Kon Tum yesterday night and today.

The National Centre for Meteorology and Hydrology Forecasting called yesterday for central provinces to watch for more floods and potential storms as a low tropical depression emerged in the East Sea.

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Flood recedes

Residents of the Central region helped clean homes and public offices as floodwaters began to recede in many areas yesterday morning, hoping to return to normal life after the October and November downpours.

Quảng Bình education authorities asked schools in the province to postpone upcoming teachers’ day activities and focus on teaching and learning instead, after almost two weeks of flooding forced schools to close.

In Hà Tĩnh, cleanup work took place around the province. Power staff cut power links to Hương Khê District, where several low-lying communes are still flooded, to ensure safety.

In Quảng Trị, rescuers succeeded in saving the lives of three boat crewmen about to be sunk by strong flows when it was travelling offshore in Hải Lăng District.

Border guards in the mountainous A Lưới District in Thừa Thiên-Huế Province assisted residents in refilling a large floodwater break on a key local road, attempting to contact isolated villages.

The latest reports said November floods claimed four lives, one person is still missing, and 12 others were injured. Quảng Bình was hit the hardest, with 296 hectares of rice and vegetables destroyed and 6,252 poultry and head of cattle swept away.

Damaged belongings and public office facilities, plus traffic infrastructure in affected areas, have not been assessed and are not reflected in existing flood damage estimates.  — VNS