Illustrative image (Source: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) - The Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Preventionand Control has asked steering boards for disaster prevention, and search andrescue in northern cities and provinces affected by storm Son Tinh to promptlymobilise forces and facilities to deal with the aftermath.
Thesteering boards were requested to keep a close watch on post-storm torrentialrains and update the situation to all-level authorities and people, helpingthem brace for flooding, flash floods and landslides in mountainous areas.
Citiesand provinces from Quang Ninh in the north to Ha Tinh in the central region, wereasked to continue pumping water out in order to limit losses tonewly-cultivated rice areas, as well as setting out recovery plans.
Itis necessary to ensure the safety of reservoirs, especially some key ones thatare already full of water.
TheElectricity of Vietnam was asked to ensure an uninterrupted power supply for pumpingstations.
Initialreports by localities showed that as of 11:30am on July 20, torrential rainsand floods killed five people, including three in the northern mountainousprovince of Yen Bai and two in the central province of Thanh Hoa; leaving 13missing in the two localities; and eight others in Nghe An and Yen Bai injured.
SonTinh, the third tropical storm to enter Vietnam from the East Sea this year,destroyed 21 houses, flooded 827 others in northern and central localities, andforced 365 households to evacuate.
Italso swept away and killed 3,964 heads of poultry and livestock, and affected2,868ha of aquatic area.
Accordingto the Directorate of Water Resources under the Ministry of Agriculture andRural Development, as of 5pm on July 19, 69,890ha of rice and 12,570ha of cropshad been flooded.
Heavydownpours are forecast to last over the next few days. -VNA
VNA
