HANOI, Sept 12 (Askume) – Floods and landslides continue to hit northern Vietnam and the meteorological agency forecasts there will be no significant change in the water level of the Red River over the next 24 hours.
Vietnam is still recovering from the effects of Typhoon Yagi, the strongest storm to hit Asia this year, which made landfall on Saturday. At least 197 people have died and 128 are missing since the storm struck, according to the government’s disaster management agency. Nearly 800 people were injured.
“The high flood level has caused river banks and low-lying areas to be inundated, dams to be destroyed, and parts of Hanoi and other northern provinces to be threatened,” the agency said in a report.
Earlier, thousands of people living near the city’s swollen rivers were evacuated as river levels rose to their highest level in 20 years.
Deadly landslides and severe floods were still affecting many areas north of Hanoi, state media reported.
“I never thought my house would flood so badly,” said Huong Wenti outside his home in Thai Nguyen province.
“My clothes and furniture were submerged in water, and many things were floating. Luckily, I closed the door and nothing was swept away.”
Thai Nguyen province is home to Samsung Electronics’ largest smartphone manufacturing plant in Vietnam. Floodwaters have receded in parts of the province and clean-up efforts are ongoing.
More than 200,000 hectares of rice and cash crop fields have been inundated by landslides and floods, according to the disaster management agency.
The storm also disrupted power supplies and blew off the roofs of several factories in Hai Phong and Quảng Ninh provinces, halting production.
Several countries, including Australia, Japan and the United States, have announced aid to Vietnam.
