On the morning of November 21, according to a quick report from the Department of Dyke Management and Natural Disaster Prevention and Control (Ministry of Agriculture and Environment), particularly heavy rains and floods have caused catastrophic consequences in the Central provinces, especially Gia Lai, Dak Lak and Khanh Hoa. As of the evening of November 20, at least 52 people have died and gone missing.
Of which, 43 people died (Dak Lak 16, Khanh Hoa 14, Gia Lai 5, Lam Dong 4, Hue 2, Da Nang 2) and 9 others are missing (Dak Lak 4, Da Nang 2, Quang Tri 1, Khanh Hoa 1, Lam Dong 1).
Floods have also submerged nearly 68,000 homes. Of which, Dak Lak is the most severely affected locality with more than 39,500 flooded houses, Gia Lai with 19,200 houses and Khanh Hoa with 9,000 houses. A series of communes and wards in these provinces are isolated in the sea.
Agricultural damage was 15,000 hectares of rice and crops were completely flooded and damaged; nearly 31,000 livestock and poultry were killed and swept away. Initial economic losses are estimated to have exceeded VND3,000 billion.
More than 30 locations on national highways and 142 locations on provincial roads were deeply flooded and landslides caused congestion. In particular, Prenn Pass and Mimosa Pass (Lam Dong) were seriously eroded, forcing the locality to declare an emergency situation. The railway industry had to stop 14 passenger trains, while Tuy Hoa Airport temporarily stopped operating on November 20. Nearly 400,000 customers in many localities are still without power.
The cause of the disaster was determined to be due to a particularly heavy rain that lasted from November 16. Many areas recorded rainfall in 5 days of up to 1,000 - 1,800mm. In particular, on November 19, in Dak Lak (the old Phu Yen province), there was particularly heavy rain over a wide area, with some places reaching more than 800mm in just one day. In Khanh Hoa, Ho Hoa Son station recorded 24 hours of rainfall of up to 684mm.
The huge rainfall caused floods on rivers to rise rapidly, surpassing historical milestones that have been recorded. Floods on Ba River (Dak Lak), Ky Lo River (Dak Lak) and Dinh Ninh Hoa River (Khanh Hoa) have all peaked, exceeding the historical flood by 0.2 to 1.1m. In Cung Son (Ba River), the flood peak is 1.09m higher than the historical flood peak in 1993.
Although floods on major rivers are currently receding, the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting warns that heavy to very heavy rain will continue to occur in the provinces from Da Nang to Khanh Hoa on November 21-22, with the risk of flash floods, landslides and flooding still very high.
In the face of the emergency situation, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired an urgent online meeting on the night of November 20 to direct response work. A series of urgent telegrams have been issued, requiring localities to focus all resources to rescue people.
Deputy Prime Minister Ho Quoc Dung was directly present at hot spots in Khanh Hoa and Dak Lak to inspect and direct the work to overcome the consequences. President Luong Cuong also visited and encouraged people in flooded areas in Da Nang.
The Ministry of National Defense has mobilized more than 21,000 officers, soldiers, militia and hundreds of specialized vehicles to help people evacuate and overcome the consequences. 4 Mi helicopters and 9 tons of dry food are ready to supply isolated areas. The Ministry of Public Security also mobilized nearly 42,000 officers and soldiers to participate in response, ensuring security and order and traffic flow.
The Government has decided to provide emergency support of 50 billion VND to Khanh Hoa, 300 billion VND to Gia Lai and 200 billion VND to Dak Lak. The Ministry of Finance has also issued 4,000 tons of rice from national reserves to provide relief to the people.
Hydropower and irrigation reservoirs in the area have been and are being flexibly operated to regulate and reduce floods downstream. The inter-reservoir in the Ba River basin alone has cut off nearly 110 million m3 of water.
People's evacuation work was carried out urgently, with more than 21,700 households/71,669 people in dangerous areas evacuated to safe places.
Many organizations such as UNICEF, IOM, the European Union... have pledged and provided emergency aid with goods and necessities worth millions of USD to help people in flooded areas.
Millions of arms turn to compatriots affected by storms and floods
Consecutive storms and floods have caused many deaths, missing and injuries; many houses and production and business establishments have had their roofs blown off and suffered heavy damage. People across the northern mountainous provinces and the central provinces are struggling to cope with floods and heavy losses in human lives and property due to floods and thunderstorms.
"A piece of food when hungry is worth a package when full", with the spirit of mutual love that has always been a beautiful image of the Vietnamese people, the Golden Heart Social Charity Fund calls on domestic and foreign philanthropists to join hands to share with people affected by floods to have food, clothing, shelter, students have books to go to school...
The Golden Heart Social Charity Fund would like to sincerely thank the precious feelings of agencies, businesses, and domestic and foreign philanthropists.
Please send any help to: Golden Heart Social Society Fund, No. 51 Hang Bo, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi. Phone: 024.39232756. Account number (STK): 113000000758 at Vietinbank Hoan Kiem Branch, Hanoi. STK: 0021000303088 - at Vietcombank - Hanoi Branch, STK: 12410001122556 - at BIDV - Hoan Kiem Branch. Or scan the following QR code:
