HANOI: Floods and severe weather between Friday (July 31) and 10:00am on Sunday left three children dead and one person injured and caused widespread damage across some northern localities.
Flash floods killed three children in the northern mountainous province of Lang Son.
A landslide of nearly 100cu.m of soil and rock blocked Provincial Road 103 at Km29+150, disrupting traffic.
The Vietnam Disaster and Dyke Management Authority under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment reported that in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai, heavy rain accompanied by thunderstorms and strong winds injured one person.
Landslides and flooding affected 13 houses, while local authorities evacuated 30 households to safer areas.
Flooding also damaged eight hectares of rice fields.
Following the disasters, local authorities deployed emergency forces to affected areas to assist residents, assess damage and help restore production and daily life.
The authority has maintained round-the-clock monitoring of weather conditions, natural disasters and dyke systems, while providing forecast updates to local authorities to support disaster response.
In coordination with Zalo Vietnam - the country's leading messaging platform, it also sent disaster preparedness guidance to six million mobile subscribers in areas forecast to face heavy rain, flooding, flash floods, landslides, strong winds, lightning and hail.
Local authorities have been instructed to remain on alert, closely monitor weather forecasts and implement response and recovery measures.
According to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, the northern region and the northern province of Thanh Hoa are expected to experience showers, moderate rain and thunderstorms from the night of August 3 to 7, with some areas likely to receive heavy to very heavy rainfall.
From the night of August 3 to August 11, the central province of Nghe An to Hue City and the south-central coast are forecast to see scattered evening and nighttime showers and thunderstorms.
The Central Highlands and southern regions will also experience scattered showers and thunderstorms, with locally heavy rain expected from around August 4-5.
Nguyen Van Huong, head of the centre's Weather Forecast Division, warned that thunderstorms could bring whirlwinds, lightning, hail and strong gusts.
To minimise damage and prepare for further heavy rain, flooding, flash floods, landslides and severe weather, the National Civil Defence Steering Committee has urged affected provinces and cities to closely monitor forecasts and warnings, promptly inform local authorities and residents, and mobilise forces for recovery efforts. — Vietnam News/ANN
