HANOI, Vietnam: Record heavy rains and flooding in central Vietnam this week have killed 35 people, disaster management officials said Sunday, with five more still missing in the deluge.
According to official statements, torrential downpours over the past week have triggered landslides, river overflows, and flash flooding, submerging villages, damaging infrastructure, and destroying thousands of homes and farmlands. The worst-hit areas include Yen Bai, Lao Cai, and Thanh Hoa provinces, where rescue teams continue to search for missing residents trapped under debris.
The agency said that more than 10,000 houses have been inundated, while hundreds of hectares of rice and crops have been wiped out. Authorities have also evacuated families from high-risk zones to temporary shelters as weather forecasts warn of continued heavy rainfall in the coming days.
Local officials described the floods as among the most destructive in recent years, severely disrupting transportation and power supply. Several bridges and roads remain impassable, making relief operations difficult.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has directed emergency response units to accelerate rescue missions and ensure timely aid delivery to affected communities. The government has also urged local administrations to stay on high alert for possible landslides and rising river levels.
Meteorologists have linked the extreme rainfall to the ongoing tropical depression moving across the South China Sea, cautioning that flood risks may persist through next week if weather conditions do not improve.
