HCMC – One person was killed and four others injured after a thunderstorm, linked to Storm Wipha, hit the central province of Nghe An on the evening of July 19, provincial authorities reported.
The 59-year-old victim died after a tree branch fell onto his house in Vinh Loc Ward. The four injured included two boys in Nghia Hung Commune, both aged 13, a 29-year-old man in Minh Hop Commune, and a woman in Kim Bang Commune.
Strong winds and rain damaged 390 homes across 60 communes in the province. Seventeen houses were destroyed, 83 were severely damaged, and 290 had partial damage. Some public buildings also reported minor damage.
The storm affected agriculture across the province. Over 1,650 hectares of crops and forest were impacted, including rice, vegetables, fruit trees, and natural forest.
Provincial authorities have ordered localities to mobilize resources for recovery and assess damage for possible state support.
Nghe An has 2,816 fishing boats. By 10 a.m. on July 21, 2,807 had returned to port. Nine boats remained at sea but were reportedly safe.
More than 1,000 reservoirs in the province were functioning under approved storm management plans. The Song Dao reservoir was scheduled to release water from July 22. Twenty-three hydropower reservoirs were operating normally.
In a separate development, authorities in Quang Ninh Province recovered the body of a child missing after a tourist boat capsized in Halong Bay on July 19. The body was found near Ti Top Island on the morning of July 21.
The boat, Vinh Xanh 58, overturned at 1:45 p.m. during a squall near Dau Go Cave. All 49 people aboard, including 46 tourists, the captain, and two crew members, were thrown overboard.
In the accident, 36 people have been found dead, 10 survived and three remain missing. Search operations continue despite worsening weather as Storm Wipha nears the mainland. Quang Ninh authorities said rescue efforts remain a top priority.
