Sunday, July 5, 2009

Flooding kills eight in northern Vietnam

By: AFP
Published: 5/07/2009

At least eight people were killed while three others were reported missing as a result of floods and landslides in northern Vietnam during the weekend, national emergency services said.

File photo shows farmers working on the side of a mountain in the northern province of Bac Kan. At least eight people were killed while three others were reported missing as a result of floods and landslides in northern Vietnam during the weekend, national emergency services said.

Of the victims, six were killed in a landslide in mountainous Bac Kan province triggered by heavy rains and floods, the National Flood and Storm Control Committee said.

The other two were from Ha Giang and Cao Bang provinces and died after being swept away in strong river currents, the committee said in an online report.
Heavy rains have been reported in northern Vietnam since late Friday, swelling local rivers and streams.

The country is usually ravaged by typhoons, tropical storms and floods between July and November every year.

In 2008, disasters triggered by bad weather claimed at least 550 lives according to the communist government's General Statistics Office.

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