Deadly flooding reminiscent of 2007; over 35,000 houses flooded

October 05, 2010 - 08:56 AM

Torrential rains triggered floods that hit over 35,000 families in Quang Binh Province with heavy water.

Torrential rains triggered floods that hit over 35,000 families in the central province of Quang Binh with heavy water.

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Quang Binh Province’s Steering Committee for Flood & Storm Prevention & Control and the Committee for Search and Rescue said that the historical flood situation, which occurred in 2007, has happened again here.

Continuous and torrential rains on October 2, 3 and 4 made water of the Gianh River and Kien Giang River exceed the alarming level III classification. Thousands out of the 35,000 families who had their homes flooded were saturated by their roofs. 5 people have been reportedly dead.

By today morning, 6 out of the province\'s 7 districts have been heavily hit by floods.

At 8pm yesterday, October 4, Dau Minh Ngoc, Chairman of the Quang Trach District People\'s Committee, said 9 communes in the south of the district had been completely isolated. The district authorities have instructed emergency teams to use boats to approach people in these areas and evacuate them to the second floors of schools and government offices.

At 11am on October 3, a strong tornado with heavy rains hit downtown Dong Hoi City, Quang Binh Province. Consequently, it knocked down many trees and power poles on Tran Hung Dao Street and shut power off at the city’s centre as well as causing traffic jams on the street.

According to Mai Cong Danh, Party Secretary of Tuyen Hoa District, on the afternoon of October 3, the water of the Ho Ho Reservoir had exceeded the acceptable levels. Thus, Ho Ho Reservoir’s dam could break.

371 families with nearly 2,000 people living in Tuyen Hoa District were evacuated from the lower part of the reservoir.
In addition, many important roads running through the province were flooded, making the traffic completely isolated.

Many parts of National Road 12A, running from the centre of Quang Binh Province to Dong Le Town, Tuyen Hoa District, were covered with water at over 1 metre, causing the traffic congestion.

The portion of the Ho Chi Minh Trail running through Phu Nhieu Hamlet, Thuong Hoa Commune, Minh Hoa District was flooded as well, leaving 2 mountainous districts including Tuyen Hoa and Minh Hoa isolated.

Many routes heading towards villages of ethnic groups were also flooded and dealing with landslides causing difficulties in rescue efforts.

Quang Binh Province’s Steering Committee for Flood & Storm Prevention & Control and the Committee for Search and Rescue held an urgent meeting to discuss the current flood situation and determine appropriate solutions.

At the meeting, leaders of the province requested all local agencies to postpone unimportant meetings in order to focus on dealing with the disaster. Students from many schools in affected areas were told to stay at home for their safety. Furthermore, a monitoring station was established in Canh Hoa Commune to respond timely to the floods.

In the neighbouring province of Quang Tri, torrential rains kept falling from September 29 to October 3. Water from many rivers of the province such as Thach Han River in Quang Tri Town, O Lau-Thac Ma river at Hai Son Commune, Hai Lang District, were at alarming levels.

On October 2, at Cang Gian Hamlet, Trung Giang Commune, Gio Linh District, Quang Tri Province, roofs of a centre for community learning and nearly 10 houses were blown off along with 500 rubber trees were knocked down. Initial damages are estimated at nearly VND200 million ($10,137).

On the evening of the same day, at Trung An Hamlet, Hai Khe Commune, Hai Lang District, a boat was broken and roofs of 8 houses and a kindergarten were blown off.

At Hai Son Commune, a two year old child drowned.

Many important roads of the district were covered with water, causing difficulties in traveling. The district has a total of over 2,000 families but only 330 families living in My Chanh Commune were evacuated.