HÀ NỘI — Heavy downpours and floods in northern mountainous and Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta provinces over the past days have wreaked havoc.

As rain is forecast to continue in the coming days, flash floods and landslides are predicted, according to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

According to reports from northern provinces of Bắc Kạn, Hòa Bình, Điện Biên, Sơn La, Thái Nguyên, central province of Thanh Hóa and Mekong Delta province of Long An, as of Thursday morning, downpour and floods made 124 houses collapse and inundated 174ha of paddy fields.

Nearly 5,000cu.m of rocks and soil have eroded. Falling rocks killed a two-year-old girl in Hòa Bình Province’s Mai Châu District, while one person went missing and three others were injured.

Điện Biên Province, one of the hardest hit, had 700 landslide spots. Three commune’s headquarters have been flooded by half a metre of mud. Total losses in the province have so far reached VNĐ120 billion (US$5.2 million).

The Directorate of Water Resources has warned that water levels in Mekong Delta localities might exceed level 3, the highest warning level. Floods are predicted to affect 165,200ha of autumn-winter rice crops in provinces located in the upstream of the river such as Đồng Tháp, Kiên Giang, An Giang and Long An.

Six mountainous districts in central Nghệ An Province – Kỳ Sơn, Tương Dương, Con Cuông, Quế Phong, Quỳ Châu and Quỳ Hợp - are at risk of landslides and flashfloods, according to the centre.

As of Thursday morning, eroded roads connecting communes in the province had not been repaired. Cracks on National Highway No 7 caused by heavy rains between August 16 and 23 have not been repaired and are predicted to encroach upon a larger area.

The National Steering Committee on Natural Disaster Prevention has ordered safety measures to be taken in the Mekong Delta provinces of An Giang and Kiên Giang to protect structures located by the rivers and dykes, as the Trà Sư and Tha La dams release water today.

Localities in northern mountainous areas must mobilise forces to address the consequences of floods, especially recovering 12 landslide spots in Điện Biên Province and eight others in Sơn La Province.

Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc has ordered mobilising equipment for northern Lai Châu Province to respond to natural disasters including 506 tents, nine power generators and six boats.

According to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, heavy downpours will last until today in northern mountainous provinces with high volume of up to 150mm in 24 hours in Điện Biên, Lai Châu and Lào Cai. The water levels of the Lục Nam, Thương, Cầu and Cả rivers are also rising. — VNS