13 people missing due to flash floods after storm No. 3 in Thanh Hoa
Water from upstream poured down like a waterfall, sweeping away 20 houses in Xa Na village (Quan Son, Thanh Hoa), leaving 13 people missing on August 3.
Located in the area affected by storm Wipha (storm No. 3), Thanh Hoa border districts had continuous rain from the night of August 2 to the afternoon of August 3. Water from the upper Son River poured into Xa Na village, Na Meo commune (Quan Son district) when people were sleeping and could not run away in time.
"20 houses were swept away, rescuers found 3 people and brought them to the medical station, 13 others are missing," said Mr. Pham Van Tieu, Chairman of Na Meo commune.
| Terrible floods in Thanh Hoa. |
During the search, Xa Na villagers discovered Mr. Luong Van Chon stuck on a tree in the middle of Son stream. Border guards used bamboo to make rafts and ropes to try to reach and rescue Mr. Chon. However, due to the strong current, the rescue work encountered many difficulties.
Officers of the Na Meo International Border Gate Border Guard Station mobilized forces, coordinated with the police and local authorities to expand the search area for the missing person along the downstream of Son stream and both banks of Luong river (where the stream flows into), but have not yet had results.
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Mr. Chon was stuck on a treetop in the middle of a raging stream for many hours. Photo:Q. Son. |
The floods also isolated five villages in Na Meo commune, including Son, Che Lau, Cha Khot, Na Poong and Xa Na. "Reaching isolated villages, especially Xa Na, to search for missing people is difficult due to heavy rain and widespread landslides," Mr. Tieu added. Communication with the villages was also interrupted.
National Highway 217 to the border commune of Na Meo had a landslide at km 66 with about 1,000 cubic meters of rock and soil buried, causing a traffic jam.
Previously, many communes in border districtsMuong Lat(Thanh Hoa) was also cut off due to landslides caused by heavy rain and floods. Mr. Bui Dinh Khiem (58 years old, in Na Tao village, Pu Nhi commune) went to herd and catch a pig that escaped from its pen, but unfortunately was swept away by the raging flood, and his body has not been found yet. Mr. Khiem's wife went to look for her husband and was also stuck in the middle of the raging stream, but fortunately, the villagers helped her to get her to shore safely.
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The flood came so suddenly that people in villages in Na Meo commune were caught off guard. Photo:Q. Son. |
At about 10 p.m. on August 2, storm Wipha, the third storm in the East Sea, made landfall.into the north of Quang Ninh province causing strong winds, heavy rain, and widespread power outages. The storm then weakened into a tropical depression, at 10:00 a.m. on August 3 in the midland plains of the North, wind speed 40-50 km/h, level 6, gusting up one level.
By 1 p.m. on August 3, some places had very heavy rain such as: Mong Cai 270 mm, Mau Son (Lang Son) 320 mm, Son Dong (Bac Giang) 200 mm, Hung Yen 230 mm, Phu Ly (Ha Nam) 260 mm, Hai Duong 170 mm, Lang (Hanoi) 130 mm...
In the next 6 hours, the tropical depression will move west-southwest, about 5-10 km per hour and gradually weaken into a low pressure area over the southern part of the Northern Delta and Thanh Hoa.