Floods, landslides in northern Vietnam kill 17, leaving 11 missing

Floods and landslides triggered by torrential rains had killed at least 17 people, and left 11 missing as of Tuesday morning.

Lai Chau is the worst hit province with 12 dead. Meanwhile, Ha Giang province has lost five residents.

While the flood waters have receded from the northern mountainous provinces of Lai Chau, Ha Giang and Lao Cai, many villages and towns have been isolated and rendered unreachable by barricades of mud and stones deposited by multiple landslides, VnExpress.com reports.

As of Tuesday morning, more than 80 houses had been swept away and over 700 hectares of rice fields damaged, according to the Central Steering Committee on Natural Disaster Prevention and Control (NDPC).

The total damage in the provinces of Lao Cai, Ha Giang and Lai Chau has been estimated at VND160 billion ($7 million) thus far.

Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung and Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong, head of the NDPC, arrived in Lai Chau Province’s Tam Duong District on Tuesday morning to inspect the damage and direct relief operations.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc sent an urgent document to local authorities urging them to take due steps to prevent further flooding and minimize damage to people and property.

Natural disasters including floods and tropical storms killed more than 390 people across the country last year and caused damage worth nearly VND52.2 trillion ($2.34 billion), according to official figures.