Severe Flooding Hits Multiple Regions

August 9, 2019 By Vietnam Weekly

Tropical Storm Wipha slammed northern provinces last weekend, leaving 10 dead and 11 missing at the time of writing, while also destroying homes and swamping roads with landslides and flooding. Thanh Hoa was the heaviest-hit province, with five fatalities and 10 people missing there. 

In Hanoi, heavy rain from the storm turned the Geleximco Le Trong Tan suburb into a lake for over a day, flooding homes and forcing residents to use boats to get around. 

In neighboring Laos, officials from Viengxay District have asked for helplocating seven people who were swept away in flash floods caused by the storm. 

The mountainous Central Highlands has also experienced major flooding, with at least three people killed across Lam Dong, Dak Lak and Gia Lai provinces (in Vietnamese). According to Tuoi Tre, 30,000 households have been cut off by flooding in Dak Lak alone. Parts of Da Lat, the popular tourist destination, also flooded.

Meanwhile, Phu Quoc, off the southwest coast, experienced historic floodingearlier this week after three days of heavy rain. Floodwaters in parts of the island's main town reached chest level on adults, and power had to be cut off in some areas for safety. Several residents told Tuoi Tre that they had never before seen such high water - the rampant tourism development going on down there surely isn't helping.