Typhoon Bualoi death toll in Vietnam rises to 26
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh called for immediate relief efforts to assist those affected by the destruction caused by Typhoon Bualoi.
THE HANOI TIMES — At least 26 people were dead, 22 missing and over 100 got injured as of September 30 afternoon as Typhoon Bualoi ravaged across northern and north-central Vietnam.
According to the Directorate of Dyke Management and Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, thunderstorms and flooding had claimed most of the victims, with 11 deaths in Ninh Binh and Hung Yen. Others were killed when trees toppled or houses collapsed.
The missing people include ten fishermen in the central province of Quang Tri, four villagers buried by landslides in northern province of Tuyen Quang, and three victims of a capsized boat in the central province of Thanh Hoa. Eight others on a fishing vessel from the central highlands province of Gia Lai have been out of contact.
Big trees in Nghe An Province are damaged by Typhoon Bualoi. Photo: Nghe An Newspaper
The storm tore through 88 homes and damaged more than 135,000 others, with Ha Tinh the hardest hit (more than 84,000 houses). In addition, nearly 14,000 homes were inundated, mostly in northern provinces of Lao Cai and Cao Bang and the central provinces of Thanh Hoa and Nghe An. Over 1,300 flood or landslide points halt traffic across ten provinces, while strong winds uprooted 57,000 trees.
From late September 29 to September 30 afternoon, many weather stations in Lao Cai, Thai Nguyen, Tuyen Quang, Phu Tho and Hanoi logged 140–190 mm of rain, triggering fresh flooding in the capital.
Prime Minister orders urgent relief efforts
Following the situation, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh today demanded urgent relief operations to help people overcome the devastation brought by Typhoon Bualoi.
A part of Cao Bang Province is flooded due to Typhoon Bualoi. Photo: Cao Bang Newspaper
He ordered the chairpersons of the provincial people's committees of Cao Bang, Tuyen Quang, Lao Cai, Phu Tho, Thai Nguyen, Thanh Hoa and Nghe An to mobilize forces and vehicles to access isolated areas as soon as possible, repair damaged houses, arrange shelters for affected residents and provide them with essential supplies.
The ministries of Construction, National Defense, Public Security and Agriculture and Environment are asked to be involved in the response and support missions.
Chinh stressed that schools and hospitals devastated by the storm must be repaired before October 5 to ensure uninterrupted access to education and health care.
The Minister of Agriculture and Environment was tasked with instructing localities to carry out production recovery measures and reporting the results to the Prime Minister before October 5.
The Minister of Finance was required to coordinate with relevant agencies to process local requests for disaster relief funding in accordance with legal regulations and report to the prime minister on October 1.
