HÀ NỘI — Heavy rain and flooding over the weekend in the northern regions killed seven people, including a family of four, and one person is missing.

According to the latest report of the Office of the Central Committee for Disaster Prevention, the downpour that started July 7 caused severe flooding in Thái Nguyên Province, washing away a family with two children aged four and eight. The family was driving a car across a bridge in Linh Thông Commune when the water rose quickly and swept away the vehicle.

The body of a 17-year-old boy was found yesterday after he was washed away by the rising water the previous day when swimming across the Nậm Rốm River in Thanh Chấn Commune, Điện Biên Province.  

Meanwhile in Hà Giang Province, rescuers yesterday found the bodies of two youngsters aged 13 and seven buried in a landslide hours earlier.  They were residents of Zone 5 in Vinh Quang Township, Hoàng Su Phì District.

A resident of Quang Bình District was also washed away by the flood and remains missing. The landslide triggered by the heavy rain also injured another resident of Bắc Quang District and damaged at least 70 houses across Quang Bình, Xín Mần and Hoàng Su Phì districts.

Authorities reported that more than 1,375 cubic metres of soil and rocks fell during the rain, blocking 26 roads connecting villages and communes in the province. The landslide also broke two irrigation facilities in Yên Minh District while two schools were buried under the rocks in Hoàng Su Phì.

So far, 13 of 20 households living in Nà Lầu village, susceptible to landslides, have been evacuated. Evacuation efforts are still underway given that more rain was forecast in the northern region until Tuesday.

Landslides in neighbouring Lào Cai Province affected three houses in Mường Khương and Bắc Hà Districts, while at least 17,000 cubic metres of soil fell over 23 roads. Traffic resumed yesterday, the disaster prevention committee reported.

The downpour wrecked nearly 100 ha of paddy and vegetable fields across the three mountainous provinces over the weekend, while hundreds of pigs and poultry were washed away.

Damages in Hà Giang and Lào Cai were estimated at around VNĐ3 billion (US$124,400) and VNĐ2 billion, respectively.

The National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting yesterday warned that heavy rain is expected until Tuesday in the northern region and Thanh Hóa Province. The average rainfall will range from 70 to 120 mm, reaching over 200mm in particular areas. — VNS