By Xinhua,
Hanoi : Flash floods in some Vietnamese northern provinces caused by a storm since Friday have killed 79 local people and left 39 others missing, according to the country’s Central Committee for Flood and Storm Control on Sunday.
The flash floods also injured 16 others in the eight provinces of Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Phu Tho, Quang Ninh, Ha Giang, Tuyen Quang, Bac Can and Lang Son.
The floods have destroyed 296 houses, inundated 3,485 others, and damaged 5,112 hectares of paddy rice and other crops, as well as some dyke and road sections in the provinces, the committee said.
The government has instructed sectors and localities to overcome aftermaths of the floods. A helicopter has been dispatched to Lao Cai for rescue work. Local rescuers, including many soldiers, have been actively seeking the missing people, and evacuating households in areas prone to flash floods and landslides.