Typhoon Bualoi claims 194 casualties in Vietnam 

THE HANOI TIMES — Typhoon Bualoi, along with subsequent floods and landslides, has left 194 casualties and caused a trail of destruction worth VND8.78 trillion (US$332 million) as of October 2 morning as it ravaged across northern and north-central Vietnam.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development cited the provinces' preliminary data showing that thunderstorms and flooding claimed most of the victims, with 34 people dead, 20 missing and 140 injured.

At least 154 homes were completely destroyed or washed away, and more than 154,000 houses were damaged or had their roofs ripped off.

In agriculture, 48,714 hectares of rice and other crops were inundated, 13,334 hectares of aquaculture were damaged, and 383,091 heads of livestock and poultry were killed or swept away.

Bualoi and its circulation caused widespread damage across localities, triggering 25 dyke incidents in the northern provinces of Tuyen Quang, Bac Ninh, and Ninh Binh, and affecting 1,130 schools in the central provinces of Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh and Quang Tri.

Meanwhile, 20,022 meters of embankments, riverbanks, and coastlines were eroded in the central provinces of Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, and Quang Tri. Nearly 2.7 million customers suffered blackouts, and telecom services were also disrupted in these localities.

It is estimated that tens of thousands of hectares of rice, other crops, and aquaculture farms were destroyed; nearly 1,400 schools were damaged; and key infrastructure such as dykes, roads, irrigation systems, power grids, and telecommunications facilities was paralyzed.

PM requests urgent recovery efforts from typhoon devastation

In response to the severe devastation due to the catastrophic impact of Typhoon Bualoi across the northern and central regions, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh signed an urgent directive on October 2, instructing ministries and local authorities to swiftly stabilize people’s lives as soon as possible.

The Government leader urged immediate assistance for people to rebuild and repair homes, schools and hospitals, provide temporary shelters for displaced families and deliver aid to households that lost relatives, homes, or property.

Focus must also be placed on repairing transport routes, fixing sunken boats and resuming agricultural and aquaculture production.

Authorities were told to secure sufficient food, clean water and essential supplies while clamping down on hoarding and price gouging.

The Ministry of Finance was ordered to promptly submit emergency funding support proposals to the prime minister on October 2 to aid recovery efforts.

Chinh tasked the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Public Security with preparing forces, equipment, and vehicles, even helicopters if necessary, to reach isolated areas, providing maximum support upon local requests to help people quickly overcome difficulties.

The Vietnam Electricity was directed to ensure safety for hydropower reservoirs and restore the power grid by October 5 at the latest.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Science and Technology was assigned to coordinate with telecoms providers to reestablish communications.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment was tasked with providing daily updates on losses and guiding the recovery of farming activities.

The Ministry of Education and Training was asked to guarantee uninterrupted schooling for children, while the Ministry of Health was tasked with overseeing sanitation, disease prevention and food safety in the aftermath.

The PM said that the Ministry of Construction must direct localities to restore the roads hit by landslides and flooding, ensuring safe and smooth traffic flow.

All these measures must be completed no later than October 5.

Party General Secretary To Lam has also asked the affected provinces to implement comprehensive disaster prevention and recovery measures.