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PM asks central localities to focus on dealing with heavy rains

VGP – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has asked ministries, agencies, and localities to deal with heavy rains in central Viet Nam as many parts have been submerged.

October 08, 2020 5:30 PM GMT+7

Flood in Cam Lo District of Quang Tri Province. Photo: VNA

The region has been battered by heavy downpours since October 6 with average amount of 300-500mm. Especially, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue received up to 700-900 mm of rainfall. 

Heavy rains are expected to continue in the coming days and may cause flash floods and landslides in low-lying districts of Huong Hoa, Dak Rong, Hai Lang, Thieu Phong (Quang Tri province); Dai Loc, Duy Xuyen (Quang Nam province), Phong Dien (Thua Thien-Hue province), and Minh Hoa (Quang Binh province).

The Government chief urged local leaders from Ha Tinh to Phu Yen provinces and the Central Highlands Region, especially Quang Tri, Thua Thien-Hue, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Quang Binh to keep a close watch on floods and evacuate households out of dangerous areas.

They were also asked to take measures to ensure the safety of dams of hydroelectric and irrigation reservoirs.

The East Sea could see 11-13 storms and tropical depressions this year, half of them affecting Viet Nam, meteorologists have warned.

Boasting a long coastline makes Viet Nam particularly prone to destructive storms and flooding. Natural disasters, predominantly floods and landslides triggered by storms, killed 132 people and injured 207 others in 2019.

Last month, Storm Noul, the fifth tropical storm this year in the East Sea, killed six people in central Viet Nam./.

By Khanh Phuong