BÌNH ĐỊNH – Ministries, agencies and central province administrations have been asked to work harder to deal with widespread flooding, which have heavily damaged the region. 

Inspecting flood response in Bình Định Province - one of the localities affected by the heavy flooding - yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister Trịnh Đình Dũng offered sympathies to flood victims and asked Bình Định’s authorities to mobilise all resources and have plans ready to timely deal with all situations. 

He stressed that local officials should visit and encourage flood victims and prepare to help local residents resume their daily routines after the flood is over. 

From late November to yesterday, flooding caused by heavy rains killed 25 people and injured 10 others in Bình Định. More than 57,400 houses were deep underwater, 348 collapsed, and another 398 were unroofed--according to the province’s steering board for disaster prevention, search and rescue. 

Over 13,500ha of rice and 3,500ha of other crops were destroyed in floods, which also washed away some 3,180 livestock and 195,500 poultry. Total damage is estimated at over VNĐ1.23 trillion (US$54 million). 

Mass flooding

More communes and villages in Thừa Thiên-Huế, Quảng Nam, Quảng Ngãi and Bình Định, as well as Phú Yên and Khánh Hòa, were flooded as the region experienced average rainfall ranging from 150mm to 400mm over the last two days.

Further, 14 hydro-power plants and eight irrigation lakes in the central and Central Highlands region started discharging water through the spillway from Thursday.

Six reservoirs of hydro-power plants in Thừa Thiên-Huế, Quảng Nam and Phú Yên discharged a huge capacity of water, including Hương Điền in Huế (1,233cu.m. per second), Bình Điền (892), Sông Tranh 2 (2,606) and Sông Bung 4 (917) in Quảng Nam Province, as well as Ba Hạ (2,800) and Vĩnh Sơn C (2,096).

The floods isolated and disrupted traffic on 16 provincial roads in Thừa Thiên-Huế as main roads in the districts of Phong Điền, Quảng Điền and Hương Trà were submerged, with water as high as 0.3m-2m.

Heavy flooding also occurred in the districts of Đại Lộc, Điện Bàn, and Duy Xuyên and Hội An City in Quảng Nam, while four districts – Nghĩa Hành, Mộ Đức, Đức Phổ and Tư Nghĩa – in Quảng Ngãi Province were also submerged in 0.7-1.5m deep water.

More than 823 households in Tư Nghĩa District in Quảng Ngãi were isolated, while some inner roads of Quảng Ngãi City were also submerged in water as high as 0.5-0.8m.

Rescue forces in the central province helped 1,579 households move to safety.

The Centre of Flood and Storm Prevention in the Central and Central Highlands regions warned that provinces from Thừa Thiên-Huế to Phú Yên could get rainfall ranging from 200mm to 300mm until Saturday, while medium rainfall would occur in the coastal south central provinces from today through Sunday.

The water level also rose from 1.8m to 2.5m (over emergency grade 3) in ancient Hội An City and in the suburban areas along the Hoài River yesterday morning.

In Đà Nẵng City, the floods isolated 420 households in Hòa Liên Commune in suburban Hòa Vang District, while 105ha of recently-sowed rice was inundated with water.

One person died and another was injured, while about 24ha of rice and 370ha of other crops were damaged. Many roads were deluged or eroded, isolating some localities, according to the province’s steering board for disaster prevention, search and rescue. 

Land erosion

Meanwhile, torrential rains caused serious land erosion at Cả Pass in Phú Yên Province, leading to hours-long traffic congestion early this morning.

According to Phú Yên’s Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Search and Rescue, thousand tonnes of soil and rock fell down from the pass, which connects Phú Yên and Khánh Hòa provinces, paralysing the north-south traffic flow on National Highway 1 from around 10pm last night. At times, vehicles were seen queuing up for dozens of kilometres.

Two cars were damaged, but no one was injured.

Colonel Nguyễn Phi Long, head of Phú Yên’s Transport Police Department, said at 8am this morning, the rescue force temporarily cleared the soil and rock on two-thirds of the road where erosion had occurred. One-way traffic on National Highway 1 through this area was restored.

The provincial Department of Transport said heavy rainfall and floods also caused land depression in many areas of National Highway 1 passing through the province. The most serious incidents occurred at Km 1294 + 200 in Vườn Xoài Slope and in Xuân Đài Ward, Sông Cầu Town.

Cổ Mã Pass in neighbouring Khánh Hòa Province also reportedly suffered from land erosion.

Torrential rainfall is continuing in both Khánh Hòa and Phú Yên provinces. Hydropower plants in the two provinces said they would discharge water in large quantities at noon and this afternoon.

Households in 17 communes in Phú Yên Province have been flooded.

Water level of the rivers in Quảng Nam, Bình Định, Quảng Ngãi, Phú Yên and Gia Lai is expected to rise through this weekend. - VNS