Hanoi (VNA) – Flood relief efforts have been made in the capital cityof Hanoi and the northern provinces of Hoa Binh and Lao Cai after days of downpourswhich claimed many lives and caused critical damage to local property.

As of July 31, natural calamities left 193 people dead, missing and injured. Nearly930 houses collapsed, 27,819 were damaged and had roofs blown off, and 19,822others were submerged.

Disasters destroyed more than 195,000 hectares of rice, fruit and industrialtrees, as well as devastated over 8,300 hectares of aquatic farming, accordingto report from the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Preventionand Control’s office.

Hanoi and Hoa Binh province are badly flooded localities. Over 3,680 houses inthe capital have been flooded, thousand hectares of crops have been damaged,and nearly 56,000 head of cattle and poultry have been dead and missing.

The Steering Committee on Natural Disaster Prevention and Search and Rescue ofHanoi city has mobilised all resources to reinforce Bui dyke to ensure safetyfor local people and assets.

Particularly, erosions along Da River banks in Hoa Binh province on July 30-31 resultedin the collapse of 19 houses. There was a large crack with 40 centimetres indepth, and 100 metres in length on the provincial road 445.

Inspecting the erosion situation in hamlet 26, Dong Tien ward, Hoa Binh city onJuly 31, Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung ordered relevant forces toensure safety for locals while the provincial authority was asked to focus on stabilisinglocal livelihoods.

The same day, a working group from the Central Steering Committee for NaturalDisaster Prevention and Control led by Minister of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment and head of the committee Nguyen Xuan Cuong inspected and instructedrepairs to the subsidence on the provincial road in Dan Ha commune, Ky Sondistrict.

To date, Hoa Binh province has evacuated 35 households near the erosion area tosafer places. As many as 140 families in Da Bac and Cao Phong districts havebeen moved out of areas which are prone to landslides.

In addition, landslides with an amount of 15,000 cubic metres of land and rockhave buckled the provincial road 279 in Bao Ha commune, Bao Yen district, LaoCai province. The locality was rushing off its feet to recover the incident andthe road is expected to re-open to traffic on August 1.

The localities are requested to keep close watch on the weather developments togive timely warnings to authorities at all levels. Measures in response tofloods must be drawn up to ensure safety for dykes and reservoirs.

Reserves of food, water, medicine as well as other essential items must beprioritied, while rescue forces and vehicles are required to stand ready togive support in urgent cases.-VNA