Flood deaths rise in Vietnam as typhoon closes in

intern

October 18, 2016 12:58 PM

Nearly 1,000 houses in the region were totally destroyed, with over 120,000 other houses submerged.

Typhoon Sarika

Twenty-nine people have been killed and four are missing following flash floods in central Vietnam, as a powerful storm approached, authorities reported on Tuesday.

The Central Steering Committee on Natural Disaster Prevention said another 30 were injured and one person was missing after the heavy rain began on Friday.

The committee said that some localities were seeing up to nearly 900 millimetres of rainfall.

Authorities warned of more potential damage from the approaching Typhoon Sarika, which has already killed two people in the Philippines and forced thousands of others to flee their homes.

Authorities in Vietnam expect Sarika to hit 22 out of 63 provinces, including the central provinces of Quang Binh and Thua Thien-Hue, where flooding has already occurred.

The coast guard has ordered 35,000 vessels docked in anticipation of Sarika, which is expected to enter the Gulf of Tonkin on Wednesday.

Half a million people have already been displaced in central Vietnam, while authorities have warned local people’s committees to prepare for more floods and landslides in the region.

intern