Death toll rises to 233 after typhoon hits Vietnam
13 September 2024, 09:24
Rescue workers have recovered more bodies from areas hit by landslides and flash floods.
The death toll in the aftermath of a typhoon in Vietnam has climbed to 233, state media reported.
Rescue workers recovered more bodies on Friday from areas hit by landslides and flash floods.
State-run broadcaster VTV said emergency crews have recovered 48 bodies from the area of Lang Nu, a small village in northern Lao Cai province that was swept away in a deluge of water, mud and debris from mountains on Tuesday. Another 39 people are still missing.
Across Vietnam, 103 people are still listed as missing and more than 800 have been injured.
The United Nations children’s agency, Unicef, said the storm and its aftermath has also damaged some 550 health facilities, 800 schools and more than 100,000 homes – while leaving more than three million people with no access to safe drinking water.
It said it is working with the government and other partners to deliver bottled water, purification tablets, filtration systems and other emergency aid to the areas hardest hit.
Roads to Lang Nu have been badly damaged, making it impossible to bring heavy equipment in to aid in the rescue effort.
Around 500 personnel with sniffer dogs are on hand and in a visit to the scene on Thursday, prime minister Pham Minh Chinh promised they would not relent in their search for those still missing.
“Their families are in agony,” Mr Chinh said.
Eight people from two Lang Nu households were found safe on Friday morning, state-run VNExpress newspaper reported.
They had been out of the area at the time when the flash flood hit.
Yagi was the strongest typhoon to hit the Southeast Asian country in decades. It made landfall on Saturday with winds of up to 92mph.
Although it had weakened by Sunday, downpours continued and rivers remain dangerously high.
