15 dead as central Vietnam continues to flood
The death toll in Vietnam’s central provinces jumped to 15 yesterday after heavy floods devastated the region, decimating thousands of hectares of crops and taking a heavy toll on the tourism sector.
The provinces hit hardest were Quang Nam, Thua Thien Hue, and Quang Tri.
Quang Nam: six dead
Six people were confirmed dead yesterday and three were critically injured after being swept away by fast moving waters in Quang Nam. Floods also triggered landslides and cut off traffic to many districts in the province.
Thousands of hectares of crops and fisheries were destroyed with material losses now estimated in dozens of billions of dong (VND1 billion=US$62,500).
Hoi An, an ancient town in Quang Nam Province, was also hit hard as floods submerged the area, leaving thousands of tons of garbage floating in the town’s streets.
Despite cleanup efforts, little progress has been made.
Problems have been exacerbated as much of the town’s infrastructure has been eroded, posing an imminent risk to the foundations of old houses.
The floods have also left around 4,000 foreign tourists stranded in the town, authority said.
Quang Tri: five dead
Quang Tri authority confirmed yesterday that five individuals had perished after being swept away by the floods.
Major roads in the province were severely damaged and traffic to local districts had been severed.
Around 10,000 houses are still under water and several local dykes have burst. Meanwhile, other major infrastructure remains in a precarious state.
Thua Thien Hue: four dead
Three more people were con-firmed dead in Thua Thien Hue yesterday, bringing the death toll in the province to four.
Many major traffic routes were destroyed along with thousands of hectares of paddy fields, and at least 15,000 poultry and cattle have been killed.
Some 80,000 local households have been submerged, with dam-age estimated around VND95 billion (US$6 million).
Nearly 50 percent of local communes are still under water, authority said yesterday.
Local authority have begun the monumental task of cleaning up and the General Assembly of the International Association of
Francophone Mayors (AIMF) is still slated for October 24-27 in the province.
As of yesterday, heavy rains continued to lash the province.
Thanh Nięn - October 19, 2007.
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