QUẢNG NGÃI — Four people died and two others went missing in the central provinces of Quảng Ngãi and Bình Định on December 6-7, while more than 2,300 houses were submerged in water, the Centre of Flood and Storm Prevention in the Central and Central Highlands regions reported yesterday.

Its report said more than 23 communes and eight districts in the two provinces have been flooded due to heavy rainfall and rising rivers.

Floods also isolated some communes in Bình Định Province and damaged over 4.3km of a channel system in Bình Định and Ninh Thuận.

Sixty households in Phú Trung Village in Bình Định’s Cát Khánh Commune were completely isolated when water rose up to two metres and flooded roads.

A whirlwind occurred in Mỹ An Village in Bình Định Province’s Phù Mỹ District, but reports of damage have not been released.

The centre warned that flood levels in the rivers in the two provinces are forecast to keep rising.

Water level in Quảng Ngãi’s Trà Khúc River, which measured 6.05m yesterday, is expected to rise up to 6.5m, while the Vệ River in the province will rise up to 5.7m.

The centre issued a third grade risk warning for areas near rivers in provinces from Quảng Ngãi to Khánh Hòa.

Rainfall measured between 158mm and 165mm in Quảng Ngãi City and Ba Tơ District in Quảng Ngãi Province, while provinces from Thừa Thiên-Huế to Bình Định recorded an average rainfall of 40-70mm.  

Quảng Ngãi Province has called for an emergency fund of VNĐ7 billion from the State budget to buy rice seeds and vegetables to replace flooded crops.

The province has also asked for 300 tonnes of rice for residents in the most flooded communes, as well as medicine and cleaning chemicals. — VNS