In only 30 minutes, a tornado swept away many houses, buildings, and schools in Nong Son District in the central province of Quang Nam, with the most damage to areas in Que Trung, Que Loc, and Son Vien Communes.
 |
| One section of the roof was gone. (Nguyen Thi Anh's house, Loc Dong Hamlet, Que Loc Commune). |
Hailstorm and tornado in Nong Son District on April 19 lifted the roof off of thousands of houses and destroyed many buildings. Hundreds of hectares of rice and vegetation fields were also destroyed..
According to preliminary reports from the Nong Son District People's Committee, the total damage cost was estimated to be over VND 10 billion (USD 520,000). Over 1,000 houses were destroyed or had their roofs lifted while 270 hectares of rice and other crops were lost.
On the morning of April 20, with help from local authorities, the streets of the affected areas were cleaned and traffic returned to normal. Currently, many people in the three communes of Que Trung, Que Loc and Son Vien, are without a home.
Nguyen Dinh Tan, Chairman of Que Loc Commune People's Committee said, "The tornado has caused significant damage to properties, houses of most people in the commune. We are hoping that the upper authorities will be able to provide us the support we need, so that we could restore our life in the shortest possible time."
On the same day, local people who were affected by the tornado were provided with financial support from the Nong Son District People's Committee. People with completely collapsed houses received VND 5 million (USD 260), houses with the roof being lifted away VND 2.5 million (USD 130), and houses with properties damaged by 50% and below got VND 1 million (USD 52).
Phan Thanh An, Head of Nong Son District People's Committee said that the situation will continue to be monitored and that the authorities will help the locals to settle and have a home as soon as possible.
However, in the afternoon of April 20, another tornado appeared, with less intensity and without the hailstorm. The plan to rebuild houses had to be delayed.
It was reported that this is the worst tornado along with hailstorm that has ever occurred over the past 45 years in Quang Nam Province.