VietNam Society: floods

Showing posts with label floods. Show all posts

Sunday, January 16, 2011

New dyke needed to protect HCMC

A sea dyke system should be built in Vung Tau and Tien Giang provinces to reduce the effect of climate change, floods and salt-marsh contamination, experts have said.

The dyke system would not only reduce floods in Ho Chi Minh City, Go Cong and Dong Thap Muoi areas, but also support socio-economic development, according to Dao Xuan Hoc, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Hoc said at a HCMC conference on sea dike systems on Thursday that the dyke system would be 32 kilometers long and 50 meters wide, and a 56,000-ha lake would regulate tides and floods caused by rain.

The dyke system would contribute to reducing the salt-marsh contamination of the rivers Dong Nai, Sai Gon and Vam Co.

Costs for the construction of a sea dyke system is estimated at about VND30 trillion (US$1.5 billion).

The event's participants asked the ministry to conduct research on the project's investment capital mobilization, environmental effects and traffic and transport problems.

Organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in co-operation with the city's People's Committee, the conference attracted dozens of agricultural officials and experts in the field.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Central region braces for more floods

Floods submerge a road in Phu Yen Province's Tuy Hoa City

Photo: Tuoi Tre

Heavy rains have occurred in the central provinces from Quang Ngai to Khanh Hoa as a result of a cold spell that hit the region over the last two days.

In Binh Dinh Province, water levels on local rivers have risen, submerging the districts of Tuy Phuoc, Phu Cat, Phu My and An Nhon. Provincial roads were inundated, causing a traffic gridlock.

Heavy rains and unfinished drainage works submerged residential areas in the capital city, Quy Nhon, by 1-1.5 meters under water.

In Phu Yen Province, rain-triggered floods have killed a 55-year-old man.

According to the Central Hydrometeorology Forecast Center, heavy rains are forecast to last in the next two days. It also warned against flash floods and landslides in mountainous areas and flooding in lowlands.

The National Committee for Flood Prevention and Control on Monday sent a note to the committees in Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa, Kon Tum, Gia Lai and Dak Lak, asking them to take measures to fight against floods.

Central region braces for more floods

Floods submerge a road in Phu Yen Province's Tuy Hoa City

Photo: Tuoi Tre

Heavy rains have occurred in the central provinces from Quang Ngai to Khanh Hoa as a result of a cold spell that hit the region over the last two days.

In Binh Dinh Province, water levels on local rivers have risen, submerging the districts of Tuy Phuoc, Phu Cat, Phu My and An Nhon. Provincial roads were inundated, causing a traffic gridlock.

Heavy rains and unfinished drainage works submerged residential areas in the capital city, Quy Nhon, by 1-1.5 meters under water.

In Phu Yen Province, rain-triggered floods have killed a 55-year-old man.

Saturday, January 1, 2011

South Central rains to continue

Floods wreak havoc in the Huong Son District of central Ha Tinh Province. National weather forecasters warn that heavy rain will continue in the South Central region. — VNA/VNS Photo Anh Tuan

HA NOI — Heavy rains are forecast to continue in south-central provinces, while local authorities and people are trying to surmount the consequences of floods that have hit the region over recent days.

Rainfall from Quang Tri to Binh Dinh Province over the past three days averaged 150-300mm, but reached 500mm and 740mm in some areas such as Thua Thien-Hue and Quang Ngai.

Prolonged torrential rains of up to 982mm in mountainous Tra Bong District in Quang Ngai caused double floods and pushed water levels in local rivers beyond alarm level.

Most water reservoirs in the central region had begun discharging flood water. Ten of eleven reservoirs in Quang Ngai exceeded their overflow levels.

Director of the National Hydrometeorological Forecast Centre Bui Minh Tang said heavy rains would continue during the next few days,with storms tending to move southwards through the provinces of Quang Ngai to Phu Yen.

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai instructed authorities of south-central provinces to stay alert to the progress of rains and floods to minimise losses to human life and property at an urgent online meeting with the National Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Control and local authorities yesterday.

"Rains and floods are causing severe problems, particularly in highland areas where there are a limited number of rain measuring stations, so it is essential to keep a close watch, while maintaining a flow of reports on the progress of rainstorms and floods to prevent a loss of lives through carelessness," Hai said.

Localities should continue mobilising all available forces for rescue and relief work and to support flood victims and help local people overcome the consequences of the storms.

He required the national steering committee for flood and storm prevention and control to check and ensure the safety of reservoir systems and promptly respond to landslide-affected areas.

He noted that hydropower reservoirs needed to discharge floodwaters in line with regulations to avoid creating flooding in low-lying areas.

Torrential rains have triggered floods in south-central provinces over recent days, killing 12 people and leaving two missing.

More than 44,500 households and many roads and highways in the region have been submerged under 0.2-2m of floods.

Thua Thien-Hue authorities reported that the Ho Chi Minh Highway sections crossing A Roang and Hong Van communes which had been damaged by floods, reopened to traffic yesterday.

Police in Quang Nam have mobilised forces to guide local people travelling across submerged and landslide affected roads, as well as monitoring National Highway 1A for traffic jams.

According to the Trieu Thuong Commune People's Committee, Quang Tri Province, people in low-lying areas have been evacuated with their possessions to higher ground.

People's Committee Chairman Nguyen Dai Vui of Phong Dien District in Thua Thien-Hue said drawing on the experience from previous floods, the district had bought 40 tonnes of rice to supply people in isolated areas.

"Children and old people have already been relocated to higher ground to ensure their safety," he said.

More than 4,700 households with over 21,000 people in high risks areas have been evacuated to safe places in the region. — VNS

Saturday, December 18, 2010

13 killed as more floods torment central Vietnam

13 killed as more floods torment central Vietnam Another round of flooding in central Vietnam has killed at least 13 people and left four missing, the Central Committee for Storms and Floods Control said Wednesday (November 3).

The highest death toll was in Khanh Hoa Province where five victims were killed, the committee said in a report on its website.

The third round of flooding to hit the region over the past month has damaged nearly 20,000 houses and thousands of hectares of crops in many provinces, including Ninh Thuan and Khanh Hoa, it said.

Traffic also suffered because of the floods with landslides covering main streets.

National carrier Vietnam Airlines on Wednesday said Cam Ranh Airport in Khanh Hoa Province was cut off and that bad weather had prompted them to cancel 12 domestic flights on Monday and Tuesday.

However, the weather improved on Wednesday, and the airline used bigger planes to help transport the delayed passengers.

In some provinces, local people and authorities blamed hydropower reservoirs for worsening the floods.

Last month the central region was hit by floods and 165 people were reported dead or missing.

In other news, Pham Quang Luan, a police representative in the central province of Quang Tri Wednesday said they have found the bodies of two passengers who went missing when their bus was swept away in floods in Ha Tinh Province on October 18.

The bus, which was en route to Nam Dinh Province, was carrying 38 passengers when the accident took place.

Eighteen people managed to escape from the bus after it fell into the Lam River, while 20 others were reported missing. Rescuers recovered the bus four days after the accident and have found 18 bodies so far.

The driver, Tran Van Truong, is currently in custody while an investigation is carried out.

Friday, December 17, 2010

19 dead and missing in central floods

Serious floods in South Central and Central Highlands provinces claimed 15 lives and left four others missing by 4 p.m. on November 4.

The fatalities included seven in Khanh Hoa province, four in Phu Yen province, three in Ninh Thuan province and one in Dak Lak province.

Nearly 700 houses were demolished, over 18,800 others were submerged and 29 boats were sunk while 26,500 ha of rice and crops were damaged in the floods.

A working delegation led by State President Nguyen Minh Triet arrived in Phu Yen province to visit flood victims and instruct the local authorities to cope with the situation.

The Central Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention and Control asked provinces from Quang Tri to Ca Mau to continue measures to deal with flooding and prepare for the newly established tropical low pressure.

Military units coordinated with localities and the seafood sector to inform more than 143,600 fishermen on board over 30,000 fishing boats about the developments of the low pressure system and guide them to avoid it./.

Storms forecast for central region

A low pressure north of the Truong Sa (Spratly) Archipelago is expected to cause strong winds, heavy rains and rough seas off south-central provinces from Quang Tri to Khanh Hoa, according to the National Hydro-meteorological Forecast Centre.

The eye of the low pressure front was located east offshore from Quang Nam to Khanh Hoa at 1 PM on Nov. 3 and is set to move westward.

River water levels in provinces from Quang Nam to Phu Yen and in the Central Highland provinces of Gia Lai and Kon Tum are expected to rise again to alarming levels.

The centre also warned of possible flash floods and landslides in low-land areas in provinces from Quang Nam to Phu Yen and Gia Lai and Kon Tum.

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai visited the flood-hit province of Ninh Thuan on Nov. 2 to inspect and guide the implementation of measures to cope with the nautral disaster.

He instructed local authorities to remain alert to possible floods and actively carry out on-site inspections to promptly deal with any possible incidents, while coping with the aftermath of previous floods.

Hai required the province to earmark spending for flood victims following a Government decision to provide complete support.

He asked the Ministry of National Defence to send helicopters to the province to help deliver relief aid to people in isolated areas and evacuate 32 local people caught by floodwaters.

Local authorities proposed the Government provide food and basic necessities, including 20,000 tonnes of rice, for around 30,000 people who had been evacuated. 5 billion VND (255,000 USD) in aid has been allocated to help construct houses for the flood victims, and an additional 90 billion VND (4.59 million USD) to upgrade infrastructure.

The death toll caused by floods in the south-central region, from Phu Yen to Binh Thuan, over recent days increased to 10 while six people remain missing.

Floods have submerged 6,100 houses and destroyed 622 others. Nearly 17,900 hectares of crops have been damaged by floods.

The Vietnam Directorate for Roads has instructed relevant agencies in flood-hit localities to fix road sections damaged by floods, clear road surfaces and assign guards around the clock in dangerous places.

The regional road network has undergone repair and reopened to traffic from Nov. 3, including sections of national highways No 1, 26 and 27./.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

New floods kill 20 in central Vietnam

New floods kill 20 in central Vietnam At least 20 people had died and one listed missing as of Sunday night in the latest round of flooding triggered by torrential rains in the central region since Wednesday.

Ha Tinh province suffered the highest death toll with ten so far, followed by Nghe An with eight, while the other two came from Quang Binh, the Central Committee for Storm and Flood Control said in its online report.

Meanwhile, Ha Tinh’s news website baohatinh Monday reported some 20 people were missing after a bus carrying nearly 40 people was swept away in Xuan Lam Commune early in the morning.

Others managed to escape, the report said, adding rescue efforts were ongoing.

More than 150,000 houses have been submered in the second round of flooding to hit the central coast within one month, it said.

Local newspaper Tuoi Tre Monday quoted Nguyen Van Binh, deputy general director of Hanoi Railways Transport Company as saying that as of Sunday afternoon, 12 trains carrying around 3,000 passengers have been delayed by the floods.

Many sections of the railway between Nghe An province’s Vinh Town and Quang Binh province’s Dong Hoi Town were flooded or collapsed, according to the news source.

As heavy rains continued in Nghe An and Thanh Hoa provinces, water levels in local rivers will keep increasing, they had reached alarming levels in other provices as well, the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting (NCHMF) said Sunday.

In related news, super typhoon Megi with winds blowing at 220 kilometers per hour – the highest level on the Beaufort scale measuring wind’s speed – will enter the East Sea Monday evening, the NCHMF said.

Strengthening from a tropical depression last Wednesday, Megi has been listed as the strongest storm so far in the Pacific’s 2010 typhoon season, as also the strongest tropical cyclone recorded worldwide in 2010 by several international agencies.

Vietnam’s central coast was already hit hard by heavy rains late last month, and ensuing floods killed at least 66 people and injured 86. Another 18 people are still listed as missing. Property losses were estimated VND2.562 trillion (US$131.4 million) in total.

New floods kill 20 in central Vietnam

Meanwhile, Ha Tinh’s news website baohatinh Monday reported some 20 people were missing after a bus carrying nearly 40 people was swept away in Xuan Lam Commune early in the morning.

Others managed to escape, the report said, adding rescue efforts were ongoing.

More than 150,000 houses have been submered in the second round of flooding to hit the central coast within one month, it said.

Many sections of the railway between Nghe An province’s Vinh Town and Quang Binh province’s Dong Hoi Town were flooded or collapsed, according to the news source.

Floods leave 21 dead or missing

Severe floods had left 21 dead and missing in the central provinces as of Oct. 17 while a tropical storm is forecast to hit East Sea on Oct. 18.

Most of the victims were swept away in flash floods while travelling in Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh and Thua Thien-Hue provinces, reported local authorities.

“The swift current and an immense sea of water on large area make it difficult for us to search for the missing,” said Nguyen Hong Ha, a local from Nghe An province’s Nghi Trung commune.

On Oct. 17, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung asked the Finance Ministry to immediately provide 100 million VND each to Quang Binh and Ha Tinh provinces following Deputy PM Hoang Trung Hai’s decision.

The PM also requested that the National Reserves Department allocate 1,000 tonnes of rice to each of the two provinces for timely restoration of the aftermaths of the floods.

A working group of the National Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Control on Oct. 16 made a tour of Ha Tinh province to provide guidance on coping with the natural disasters.

Vietnam News Agency correspondents in the central provinces reported that waters continued to rise in these localities.

The three consecutive days of torrential rains that ended on Oct. 16 also flooded thousands houses in these provinces for the second time since the beginning of October, said the Flood and Storm Control Steering Committee.

In Quang Binh alone, 10,000 families were evacuated to safe places and some 40,000 houses remained flooded, nearly half of which were 1.5-2m deep in water, said the provincial People’s Committee Chairman Nguyen Huu Hoai.

Heavy rains and flooding also blocked road and railway transport, isolating more than 100,000 houses in Ha Tinh province after its Mo and Khe Mung hydro-power dams were broken.

“Rain has resulted in landslides leaving 25 areas under thousands of cubic metres of soil and rocks and blocking transport on National Highway 8A,” said Nguyen Truong Tuong, director of 474 Road Management and Repair Company.

National Highway 1A was also 1m deep in water and many provincial roads remained many metres under water, preventing rescue team from reaching flooded house.

The north-south railway was suspended between Nghe An’s Vinh station and Quang Binh’s Dong Hoi station after many parts of the rails were washed away in the floods, said Nguyen Huu Tuyen, head of the Vietnam Railway’s Transport Business Department.

He couldn’t say when the section could reopen but workers would start fixing the rails as soon as water subsided.

Three north-south trains were cancelled on Oct. 17 while some 3,000 passengers who were stranded at those two stations on Oct. 16 continued their journey by bus.

Meanwhile, the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting says storm Megi, the incoming tropical that formed in the Philippines, is travelling west at 20kph and is predicted to be 300km east of Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago by the morning of Oct. 20.

The previous floods in early October killed 66 people in the centre of Vietnam./.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Vietnam central floods kill 12

Residents stay on the roof of a house submerged by flood waters in Ha Tinh province

Photo: Tuoi Tre

Rain-triggered floods have killed 12 people, with three others still missing in the central provinces as of Sunday, according to initial report by Tuoi Tre reporters.

Three people were drowned in the floods in Nghe An province’s Nghi Loc district, and two others were still missing in Thanh Chuong District.

The bodies of seven people swept away by floods were also found in Ha Tinh province.

It is not confirmed where the other dead and missing people come from.

Thousands of houses in Nghe An are being submerged by floods, and water level in the Lam River is rising.

In Ha Tinh, tens of thousands of houses are being inundated by the rising waters of the Ke Go Lake.

More than 6,000 residents of Son Ham commune in Ha Tinh was terrified to see the Mo dam broken early Saturday morning. The whole commune was submerged in the sea of water. Hundreds of people rushed to the mountain in panic.

Ha Huy Han, a worker of the Mo dam project, who stayed up all night to watch out for the dam, said he had never seen such a threatening sight in his whole life.

“Heavy downpours were likely to tear the dam up. I tried to call other people but no one was there,” he said.

“The dam was overflowed with flood waters, many pieces of rock fell apart.”

On Saturday evening, flood waters overflowed the Tan Long dam in Son Long commune, threatening the dam. Commune authorities had to assigned rescuers and local residents to wade across the waters to protect the dam.

"If the dam breaks, it will put some 200 residents living on the foot of the dam in danger of being submerged by flood waters," Nguyen Van Minh, chairman of the Long Son commune People’s Committee, said.

Several sections of the Ho Chi Minh Road were deeply flooded. However, residents of Huong Trach and Phuc Dong communes said it was still lucky that the road was not separated; otherwise the whole Huong Khe district would be totally isolated.

Local people and cattle, including pigs and chickens, are now sitting on the roofs to survive the floods.

In Huong Trach commune, only floating trees can be spotted among a sea of water. A police officer of Huong Khe district said police had just rescued some 100 residents of Kim Son village on Sunday morning.

An officer of the commune People’s Committee said 12 of 14 villages in the commune were flooded, and residents had to climb to the top of the trees, waiting for rescuers.

Ha Tinh Province People’s Committee has sent police and border guard soldiers in canoes and boats to rescue people.

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Floods claim six lives in north central region

Floods caused by prolonged and heavy rain from Oct. 1-3, have claimed six lives, injured two others and swept away nearly 6,300 houses in central provinces from Thanh Hoa to Quang Ngai.

Ha Tinh province was the hardest hit, with four deaths and one person injured. The regulating gate of the Ho Ho hydro power plant reservoir broke down, causing water to overflow and threatening residents in the lower section.

Water levels of rivers in the region are still at alarm levels.

The Central Steering Board Committee sent instructions to those provinces to mobilise forces and facilities to cope with the calamities.

Nghe An was successful in bringing a storm-affected cargo ship with eight people on board to the mainland. Meanwhile, forces in Ha Tinh province helped move over 13,000 residents to safe places and Quang Binh moved 4,400 people away from the lower section of Ho Ho power plant’s dam, while the Northern Electricity Corporation sent crews to repair the damage.

Rescue works and flood control continue to be focused on the region./.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Delayed floods disappoint farmers

Farmers in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta provinces are facing a tough time caused by delayed floods. — VNA/VNS Photo Phan Trong An

HCM CITY — With the onset of the floods delayed this year in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta, hundreds of farmers are losing out on a regular annual source of income – catching shrimp and fish washed into paddy fields by the floods.

The flood season usually begins in early August and lasts around four months.

Many families in Dong Thap Province, for instance, bought all the tools required to catch the shrimp and fish last month but were still waiting for the fields to flood.

Nguyen Tan Tai, a resident of Binh Hoa Ha Village, says his family has spent more than VND3 million (US$158) to buy small boats, fishing rods, a net, and other tools.

At this time last year locals were busy after their fields were submerged in nearly two metres of floodwaters, he says.

The late arrival has also meant tools for catching shrimp and fish are not much in demand, with their sales falling by more than half from normal years, Le Thi Nga, owner of a shop selling them at Ca Sach Market in Thuong Thoi Hau A Commune, says.

Dang Ngoc Loi, deputy director of the province's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, says 300,000-400,000 took the opportunity to top up their earnings, making VND700-800 billion (US$37 million) in the four months.

Many of them are certain to lose out this year, he says.

The water level in the Tien River in An Giang Province's Tan Chau District is now almost 1.3m lower than is normal at this time while the level in the Hau River in Chau Doc town is a metre lower, Huynh The Nang, deputy chairman of the province People's Committee, says.

The flood season provides a livelihood for 600,000-700,000 people in the province who earn a cumulative VND1.5 trillion (US$79 million), he says.

Besides, if the floods play truant, cultivation costs might increase during the upcoming winter-spring rice crop due to a lack of water for irrigation, he warns.

Le Van Banh, head of the Mekong Delta Rice Research Institute, says the floods deposit huge quantities of silt every year that fertilise 1.5 million hectares of paddies. — VNS

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Landslide deaths trigger new wet-season alarms

Prolonged heavy rain triggered a landslide that has killed three people in northern Quang Ninh province.

The deaths raised safety fears for thousands of residents in the flood and landslide-prone northern mountainous provinces of Ha Giang, Lao Cai and Yen Bai as the wet season approaches.

Seventeen people were killed or presumed dead after floods and landslides in Ha Giang province in the first seven months of this year. Forty-two houses were also destroyed.

The province's Xin Man, Yen Minh, Bac Quang and Quang Binh districts were particularly prone to floods and landslides, officials said.

To Thanh Lai, chairman of Yen Thanh Commune People's Committee in Quang Binh district, warned that landslides were expected at numerous locations along Highway 279.

Floods and landslides killed 238 people in Lao Cai province between 2000 and 2008, swept away 1,200 houses and destroyed more than 10,000ha of paddy fields.

Le Thanh Du, the provincial Agriculture and Rural Development deputy director, said: "Floods and landslides have occurred more frequently and been more serious in recent years," adding that thousands of residents were put at risk annually.

He blamed climate change for the unpredictable weather.

"In previous years, flash floods and landslides were often caused by prolonged heavy rain of between 200-300mm, but this year, floods and landslides have taken place in areas where the rainfall has measured just 8-10mm," he said.

"As a result, local authorities have been carrying out more checks in high-risk areas to ensure response measures are prompt. They have also relocated more than 5,000 people from areas prone to flash floods and landslides," Du said.

Le Thanh Hai, deputy director of the National Hydro-meteorological Forecasting Centre, said it was difficult to predict exactly where and when landslides and flash-floods would take place.

"The lack of flood-forecasting technology and limited training hinder our work. Reliable warnings are based on many factors, not just on the likelihood of rain," he said.

He said that flash floods and landslides often happened after spells of drought, particularly in mountainous areas and near river mouths.

"When hearing strange noises and finding that the water level in rivers has dropped suddenly or risen dramatically, people should move to safe areas," he said.

Hai added that heavy rains were expected in northern mountainous regions in the next few days./.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Related Articles

Monday, January 10, 2011

Floods submerge a road in Phu Yen Province's Tuy Hoa City

Photo: Tuoi Tre

Related Articles

Floods submerge a road in Phu Yen Province's Tuy Hoa City

Photo: Tuoi Tre

Related Articles

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Related Articles

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Related Articles

Friday, December 17, 2010

Related Articles

Related Articles

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Related Articles

Related Articles

Related Articles

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Residents stay on the roof of a house submerged by flood waters in Ha Tinh province

Photo: Tuoi Tre

Related Articles

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Related Articles

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Related Articles

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Related Articles