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| Local police and members of the provincial Youth Union harvest rice in a field inundated by recent heavy rains in northern Ninh Bình Province. — VNA/VNS Photo Minh Đức |
Viet Nam News
HÀ NỘI — Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Trần Hồng Hà on Monday led a team of government officials to meet local officials in areas affected by heavy rains and floods, in order to support recovery efforts.
Thanh Hóa is one of three localities hardest hit by the recent heavy rains and floods, triggered by the tropical low-pressure system last week.
Hà ordered the ministry’s units to delay other non-urgent activities to support the localities in restoring normalcy to people’s daily lives. He also called upon the ministry’s staff to donate resources and money for people living in affected areas.
On Sunday Deputy Prime Minister Phạm Bình Minh also held a working session with the local authorities to direct recovery from the heavy rains and floods.
Minh requested the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to promptly repair two dykes in Xuân Minh and Thọ Trường communes. The damage to the dykes means another downpour would put over 440,000 households in three districts of Thọ Xuân, Yên Định and Thiệu Hóa at serious risk.
The same day, National Assembly Vice Chairwoman Tòng Thị Phóng arrived in the northern mountainous province of Sơn La to inspect damage from the October 9-11 floods. Phóng and local officials presented gifts to affected families.
72 dead
The latest statistics from the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disasters Prevention and Control showed the death toll from the devastating floods in Việt Nam’s northern and central regions has increased to 72, while another 30 remain missing.
The committee’s report, released on Monday, also said that Hòa Bình was hit the hardest as 23 people were killed in the flood and landslides triggered by heavy rainfall, followed by Thanh Hóa with 16 casualties and Yên Bái with 15.
Nghệ An and Sơn La lost nine and six people, respectively, while Hà Nội and Quảng Trị reported two and one respectively.
The toll was likely to rise in the upcoming days as search and rescue efforts continued for the 30 missing people.
The tropical storm Nakhun on Monday weakened to a tropical low-pressure system. It was moving southwest at 15km per hour.
Due to the tropical low-pressure system, heavy rains are forecast to hit the north and north-central provinces till the end of Tuesday. — VNS
