At least 55 people have died and 13 are still missing as the new wave of heavy rains has battered southwest Vietnam since last weekend in a country reeling from the consequences of severe storms since the end of August and struck by as many as three typhoons in October.
The last affected area was the mountainous region in the Central Highlands, specifically the provinces of Gia Lai, Dak Lak (where the highest number of deaths were recorded, 16) and Khanh Hoa. The material damage, estimated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, exceeded 100 million euros.
The official Vietnamese news agency VNA confirmed that nearly 29,000 homes were partially flooded (of which nearly a thousand were severely affected by the water) and 16 towns remained isolated by rain-triggered flooding. Nearly 300,000 hectares of crops were destroyed and more than three million livestock and poultry died.
On the positive side, nearly 25 percent of homes in the area already had power restored on Sunday, according to authorities’ estimates.
The government of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh organized three working delegations led by deputy prime ministers to inspect and guide the flood response and recovery work.
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