Flood-hit Vietnam warned another storm looms

At least 17 people have been killed by floods in Vietnam’s central provinces in the past week and 13 are still missing, state media said, as the country braced for another tropical storm.

Flooding in the old city of Hoi An, a UNESCO world heritage site, in Quảng Nam province in Vietnam. Photo: AFP

In the next few days, the central region should be prepared for another typhoon, Linfa, which will bring more rains and result in more flooding, state broadcaster Vietnam Television (VTV) reported.

Footage broadcast by VTV showed fishermen being rescued by coastguard and helicopters as strong winds battered the central Vietnamese coast in the central province of Quang Tri.

Floods have cut food supplies to thousands of people. Around 31,000 people have been displaced and more than 33,000 houses submerged and damaged by floods, according to a government report.

Houses inundated by floodwaters following heavy rainfall in central Vietnam’s Quang Binh province. Photo: AFP

The national highway linking northern Vietnam to the south has been flooded, while airlines cancelled some domestic flights, local media report.

Vietnam is prone to destructive storms and flooding due to its long coastline. Natural disasters – predominantly floods and landslides triggered by storms – killed 132 people and injured 207 others in the country last year.

Roads also turned to rivers and water inundated properties in Thailand’s Nakhon Ratchasima province, as residents scrambled to place sandbags and move their belongings to higher ground.

In Laos, rising floodwaters have damaged villages and rice fields along the Xepon and Xebanghieng rivers in Savannakhet province with more rain on the way.

– Reuters