>> Cold spell kills 10,000 buffaloes and cows
>> Extreme cold kills precious buffaloes in Sapa
Up to 10 people died during the current cold spell in Vietnam, including seven in the central region.
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| Cold has caused more illnesses |
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| Farmers butcher a buffalo that died while grazing |
This includes five who died from carbon monoxide poisoning while trying to heat their homes with charcoal.
One town, Tra Cang, in Nam Tra My District, in the central province Quang Nam, alone suffered four fatalities. A mother named Ho Thi Thien, 31, and her new-born baby were listed among the dead, in addition to another one-month old baby, Ho Van Dong. An 85-year old man, Ho Van No, perished in an open field.
As many as 400 local buffaloes and cows have been killed, says Nguyen Thi Kim Cuc, Chairman of Tra Cang Commune.
On January 12 or 13, a 44-year old man, Tran Van Thanh and his 17-year-old daughter Nguyen Thi Tinh in central Quang Tri Province died as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning while using charcoal to heat their freezing room.
Using charcoal to heat a closed room also killed Nguyen Cao Tang in central Phu Yen province. Two people in Hanoi died in the same way in a bamboo boat.
Lang Son saw one death as a result severe cold.
The cold has also caused more illness, especially for the very young and elderly. Among the hardest hit areas are the central provinces, such as Phu Yen, Quang Ngai, Quang Nam, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue. Hospitals are seeing an increase of 20% and 40% of patients presenting with respiratory and cardiovascular problems, colds and fevers.
Buffalo death toll reaches 20,000 due to cold
Nearly 20,000 buffaloes and cows have died during the current cold spell, with northern mountainous regions suffering the biggest losses.
The severe weather has also killed roughly 2,000 cattle in the central region, including 1,000 in Quang Nam and Quang Ngai provinces.
The long cold has is also blamed for more foot-and-mouth disease among cattle. In Ba To, a mountainous district in Quang Ngai province, 290 animals have contracted the disease.
Northern localities have continued experiencing extremely cold temperatures, in the mountains regularly dropping to 5-6 degrees Celsius. Sapa and Mau Son have seen weather as cold as 1 degree Celsius.
The National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecast said the cold spell in the north might last through January 25.
