Central Viet Nam suffers from more flooding

Central Viet Nam has endured its fifth major flood since August, leaving tens of thousands of homes submerged under water, Reuters reported today.

In the coastal cities of Hue and Danang, and Quang Tri, Quang Ngai, and Binh Dinh Provinces, relief workers delivered emergency supplies, including household kits, clean water containers and mosquito nets.

“The water is at very dangerous levels and we are not very clear on what all the needs are,” said spokesman Tao Van Dang of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Hanoi. “Some people need help for disease prevention.”

According to disaster reports, in recent days, 24 people have died and 8 have been deemed missing, while approximately 25,000 people have been evacuated to higher ground. The latest deaths have brought the total for the region to 332, 114 of which occurred since October 26.

In the past few weeks, Viet Nam has had an outbreak of acute diarrhea, including cases of cholera, as well as dengue and bird flu.

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Death toll from flooding in Viet Nam rises, with typhoon expected this weekend

Government reports issued today say that more people in central Viet Nam have died due to floods, raising the death toll to 82 as fears of a typhoon, expected to hit the country this weekend, loom, Reuters reported today.

Provincial authorities have been asked by the government to warn people about the danger of moving as the flood water receded. Many deaths have been reported during the first part of this week while people tried to salvage wood and cross streams.

The flooding could also spread the bird flu in Quang Tri Province, an Agriculture Ministry Official said. Quang Tri is one of the four provinces that reported an outbreak of the disease among birds in the past month.

Typhoon Peipah, which entered the South China Sea on Monday, is expected to hit the central province of Khanh Hoa, the top coffee growing province in the country. Vietnamese officials have also asked the coastal provinces to warn fisherman as the typhoon heads for the coast.

Almost 200 people have been killed from storms and floods since early October.

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Flooding in central Viet Nam kills 20

Flooding caused by torrential rains in Viet Nam’s central provinces has killed 20 people, injured 30 and left 1 missing, ReliefWeb reported Thursday.

The largest loss of life occurred in Quang Nam Province, where nine people died.

Many roads and houses were inundated across the central region, and the rain caused landslides in Quang Ngai and Kon Tum Province.

In 2006, natural disasters in Viet Nam killed 339 people and injured over 2,000, with total losses of approximately 18.6 trillion dong, the equivalent of $1.2 billion.

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Seven die from flooding in central Viet Nam

Floods caused by heavy rains killed seven people in the central Viet Nam provinces of Khanh Hoa, Binh Dinh, and Quang Ngai, officials said today, Earthtimes.org reported.

The Central Flood and Storm department reported that all of the victims were washed away and drowned in swollen springs and rivers.

“I’m afraid more people may be killed if they keep carelessly crossing springs and rivers that are empowered by rain water,” Dam Vinh Loi, deputy head of the flood and storm department of Binh Dinh Province, said.

Floods and storms have killed at least 188 people in Viet Nam so far this year.

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Vietnamese World Heritage site in danger from flooding

The central Viet Nam World Heritage town of Hoi An was threatened by flood waters on Thursday, Reuters reported the same day. At least 10 people have died, and thousands were forced from their homes.

The government has reported that at least 30,000 people have been relocated in the provinces of Thua Thien-Hue and Quang Tri, where two people have died due to a capsized boat.

Hoi An was designated as a World Heritage site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1999 for being an exceptional example of a Southeast Asian trading port dating from the 15th to the 19th centuries.

The government also said in a disaster report that three key coffee growing provinces – Dak Lak, Gia Lai and Kontum – in the Central Highlands are in danger from flash flooding and landslides. These areas account for almost half of Viet Nam’s coffee production, with 535,000 metric tons, or 8.92 million bags.

Floods earlier this month killed almost 100 people after Typhoon Lekima struck the country’s coast. Viet Nam’s three-month flood and storm season is expected to end this month.

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