HANOI, Aug 12 (NNN-VNA) – Landslides and floods triggered by prolonged heavy rains killed 13 people and injured eight others, in the northern region of Vietnam from Aug 2 to 10, Vietnam’s National Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control said yesterday.
The fatalities were mostly reported in Lai Chau and Yen Bai provinces, while the eight injured were recorded in Lai Chau, Son La and Cao Bang provinces, according to the committee.
Rain-related disasters destroyed 82 houses and damaged 1,088 others, with 1,277 hectares of rice and other crops affected, and 2,052 poultry animals and 255 cattle killed or swept away, according to the committee.
A total of 261 irrigation, clean water and embankment works, along with 26 schools and four health facilities were also damaged. Heavy rainfall caused landslides at 709 locations in roads, and left 129 power poles broken, reported the committee.
In the first seven months of this year, natural disasters left 51 people dead or missing, and 52 others injured in Vietnam, the General Statistics Office data showed.
The disasters meanwhile caused economic losses of 881.1 billion Vietnamese dong (37 million U.S. dollars) from Jan to Jul, down 84.3 percent year on year.– NN N-VNA
