HCMC – As many as 102 people were killed and 26 others went missing due to flooding and landslides in Central Vietnam as of 4 p.m. yesterday, October 19, according to the national steering committee for natural disaster prevention and control.
Moreover, 13 national highways and 30,050 meters of roads were flooded and damaged, especially in Ha Tinh, Quang Binh and Quang Tri provinces.
In Quang Tri, by 3 p.m. on October 19, rescuers had managed to recover the bodies of all 22 military officers and soldiers trapped in landslides in Huong Phung Commune, Huong Hoa District, and evacuate the bodies from the area. This was a tough search and rescue operation due to the rough terrain, extreme weather conditions and repeated landslides.
In Thua Thien-Hue Province, local police took advantage of the improved weather in the day to dispatch additional troops, vehicles transporting necessities and rescue equipment to approach the Rao Trang 3 hydropower plant by sea, to aid the search for the 17 workers buried by a landslide at a construction site near the plant.
The Ministry of Public Security also sent more rescue watercraft to Thua Thien-Hue, including two high-performance canoes to assist with the transportation of the troops, necessities, equipment as well as the search and rescue operation.
Currently, 23 people remain there to operate the Rao Trang 4 plant and search for the missing workers. They have been supplied with sufficient food and necessities for 15 days.
Findings from the authorities revealed that the volume of soil and rocks in the landslides at the Rao Trang 3 plant reached over 30,000 cubic meters. Additional landslides have occurred there due to torrential rains.
To date, rescuers have recovered only two bodies of the 17 missing workers.
Given the severe battering the region is taking, the Government, ministries, agencies, relief organizations for natural disasters, numerous donors at home and abroad have offered support to the affected localities.
