HÀ NỘI — Heavy rain triggered by Typhoon Sơn Tinh has left 19 dead, 13 missing and 17 others injured in northern and north central provinces.

Of the victims, 10 deaths and nine missing victims were in Yên Bái Province while two deaths and two missing were in Thanh Hoá Province, and one death was in Hoà Bình Province, reported the Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control.

Floods also levelled 217 homes and damaged nearly 10,000 others.

According to the Crop Production Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, 59,000 hectares of rice and 2,000 hectares of maize and other crops in the Red River Delta were inundated. In the north-central region, nearly 51,000ha of rice and 13,400ha of maize and other crops sustained damages.

Up to 1,300 cattle and nearly 28,000 birds were swept away, while nearly 5,500ha of aquaculture fields were affected by the floodwaters.

Coast guards from Quảng Ninh to Quảng Bình have notified 29,000 vessels of the threat of heavy winds and rains and guided them to safe locations.

Water levels on the Hồng (Red) River passing through Hà Nội peaked Sunday, but is slowly coming down. Caution has been urged as risks of flooding in the lowlands or landslides in Hoà Bình, Yên Bái, and Phú Thọ are still high.

Traffic in Phú Thọ and Sơn La is still backed up and local authorities are deploying manpower and machinery to fix the roads.

The Central Steering Committee on Natural Disasters Prevention and Control have asked all northern localities to focus resources on clearing traffic blockages, search for missing victims and providing food and accommodation for those left homeless by the floods.

Central provinces from Thanh Hoá to Thừa Thiên – Huế will continue to face heavy rainfall Monday. Quảng Bình and Quảng Trị have been told to prepare for landslides as the rain shows no signs of stopping.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyễn Xuân Cường on Sunday visited and oversaw flood relief efforts in the northern province of Ninh Bình, where 3,000 homes and 5,000ha of freshly cultivated rice were flooded, and a number of irrigation failures were reported.

Ninh Bình has asked the central Government to provide VNĐ50 billion (US$2.2 million) in aid to fix broken irrigation infrastructure, in addition to 150 tonnes of rice seedlings and 5,000 life vests.

The northern province of Yên Bái, with the highest number of casualties and several remote areas in the uplands, has received three tonnes of dry provisions, five pumps and several canvas tents from the Ministry of National Defence. Army forces were also deployed to help local residents with clean-up and search and rescue operations.

The Việt Nam Fatherland Front Standing Board will send VNĐ5 million ($220) in aid to each family of the bereaved and missing, VNĐ3 million ($30) to each seriously injured person and VNĐ40 million ($1,760) to each family made homeless by the floods. — VNS