The circulation after storm No. 10 continues to cause heavy rain in the northern mountainous provinces, causing flooding in many low-lying areas, along rivers and streams.
In particular, routes to key tourist destinations such as Sa Pa, Y Ty, Mu Cang Chai, Nghia Lo... have many serious landslides, causing great obstacles to traffic and tourism activities.
On National Highway 32 through Khau Pha Pass, landslides occurred consecutively, in which a large landslide at Km269 swept away about 30m of the road surface from Nghia Lo to Mu Cang Chai and Than Uyen (Lai Chau), causing this main artery to be completely cut off.
Mr. Le Dinh Khanh Tung - Vice Chairman of Tu Le Commune People's Committee - said that the impact of storm No. 10 completely collapsed a house in the area, 10 houses were flooded and 21 other houses were landslides.
The local government has mobilized police, military forces and people of the villages to support the relocation of assets and evacuate people to safety.
At the spillways and vulnerable bridges, the authorities have stretched ropes, put up warning signs, and guarded against people passing. Weather response and monitoring work is still being urgently deployed to minimize damage.
According to a quick report from the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Lao Cai province, floods have killed 5 people, 5 people are missing, and 10 people are injured.
The whole province has nearly 9,800 affected houses, more than 3,700 households were forced to evacuate urgently. Traffic in many places was cut off with hundreds of landslides, electricity, water, and telecommunications infrastructure were severely damaged. The initial damage is estimated at about 2,750 billion VND.
In the face of the above situation, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Lao Cai province has issued a document requesting localities, businesses, and tourism service establishments to temporarily suspend organizing tours to dangerous areas; strictly review and compile statistics on the number of visitors, groups and tour guides present at tourist attractions, maintain regular contact to promptly support when necessary.
At the same time, the Department also requested the Provincial Tourism Association to increase information for tourists, recommend adjusting and postponing tour schedules, and at the same time call on service units to share difficulties with tourists through practical forms such as reducing room rates, bus tickets, meals, etc. to maintain the image of Lao Cai tourism as safe and civilized.
Travel and hotel businesses are advised to proactively contact customers who have booked during the storm to agree on plans to cancel, relocate or adjust tours, ensuring the safety and rights of tourists.
Lao Cai tourism industry identifies the work of responding to and overcoming the consequences of floods not only as an urgent task at hand, but also a long-term solution to maintain the trust of tourists and build the image of a safe and friendly destination.
