BÌNH ĐỊNH — Heavy rainfall that caused floods over the past four days in the central region claimed three deaths and inundated many areas, according to search and rescue teams.

The Steering Committee for the Central and Central Highlands’ Natural Disaster Prevention, and Search and Rescue, said one middle-aged man in Thừa Thiên – Huế Province was swept away while tending oxen. The other two victims are a 72-year-old in Bình Định Province and a six-year-old child in Khánh Hòa Province. Their bodies were all retrieved.

In another development, 12 hydropower lakes in Đà Nẵng City and the provinces of Quảng Trị, Thừa  Thiên – Huế, Quảng Nam, Quảng Ngãi and Bình Định, seriously submerging lowlands.

More than 20 communes and districts in the central provinces of Bình Định and Phú Yên were submerged from 0.3m to 0.5m from the heavy rainfall while a cold spell continued to strike the central region.

The Centre of Flood and Storm Prevention in the Central and Central Highlands regions said yesterday that floods also isolated 650 households in Hòa Mỹ Tây, Hòa Mỹ Đông and Hòa Phú communes in Phú Yên Province alone, while some sections of the National Highway No 1 were also flooded.

Of note, the Hòn Xện residential area in Vĩnh Hòa Ward, Nha Trang City were devastated overnight after thousands of blocks of rocks and earth “flooded” the area on Tuesday night as a result.

Heavy rain on Tuesday hindered several flights at Cam Ranh Airport while floods caused delays of numerous trains at the Nha Trang Railway Station.

Phú Yên and Khánh Hòa provinces took 500 residents in flood-affected areas to safer areas on Tuesday, while students in Spai commune in Gia Lai Province were asked to stay home after a traffic spillway was flooded.

Khánh Hòa and Gia Lai also reported that nearly 250 houses in the two provinces were damaged or flooded out, while over 1,600ha of rice and veggie farms were deeply soaked in water.

Serious erosion was discovered in 1km section of the North-South National Highway No 1 and a railway section system in Khánh Hòa and Phú Yên provinces, respectively.

Six fishing boats docked at port in Khánh Hòa sank when high waves and strong wind hit the coastal province several days.

The Quảng Nam Department of Education and Training said tens of thousands of students across the province were asked to stay indoors yesterday as numerous areas were isolated. If floods continue students will be told to stay home today, the Tuổi trẻ (Youth) reported.

Meteorology agencies warned that during the flooding from yesterday until Sunday, the crest of a flood in rivers from Thừa Thiên-Huế to Khánh Hòa would reach alarming levels between 2 and 3 grade (3.3m and 31.16m). Big and prolonged floods and deep inundations are likely to occur in rivers in Quảng Nam and Phú Yên province.

Meanwhile, rainfall was forecast to be 200m from Quảng Bình to Ninh Thuận provinces, while area from Đà Nẵng City to Phú Yên Province will face heavy rainfall (300-400mm).

The centre also said a cold spell in the East Sea will bring winds with a speed of 40-60 km per hour and whirlwinds and gales from 62-88 km per hour in offshore of centre-central region.

The sea area will have waves 2-4m high and emergency risk are warned to reach Level 1.  

In the central region’s heavy floods from December 5-10, 12 people were killed and five injured in Bình Định, Quảng Ngãi and Khánh Hòa. — VNS