Hanoi (VNA) - As of 9:00am on June26, floods and landslides caused by heavy rains claimed 15 lives in thenorthern mountainous provinces of Ha Giang and Lai Chau, according to theCentral Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control.

Of the victims, 12 were residents of Lai Chauand the rest three were from Ha Giang. 

In Lai Chau, 11 people went missing and eightwere injured after heavy rains triggered flood and landslides over the pastthree days.

Besides, floods and landslides destroyed 83 housesin Ha Giang, Lai Chau, Thai Nguyen and Dien Bien provinces, while damaging 508others. As many as 962 houses in Ha Giang, Lao Cai and Dien Bien provinces wereinundated by floodwater.

Floods also destroyed 1,207 hectares of rice andother crops, 46 hectare of aquatic farms, and killed 97 cattle and 5,400poultry.

Rains and floods damaged many roads, and caused temporary traffic interruptionon many national and provincial roads. National roads 12 and H4 were blocked bymasses of soil and stones from serious landslides.

Total losses in the flood-hit provinces are estimated to reach over 141 billionVND (6.16 million USD), with Lai Chau being the hardest hit with damages amountingto about 95 billion VND (4.18 million USD).

Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dung and a working delegation of the Ministry ofAgriculture and Rural Development made a field trip to Lai Chau on June 26 toinspect efforts to overcome flood consequences.

He asked for the urgent evacuation of locals from areas with high risk oflandslide and flashflood, while stressing the need to keep close watch on the actualsituation to have timely measures.

He also urged authorised forces to quickly resumetraffic on blocked road sections, accelerate the research of missing people, andsupport families affected by the natural disaster.

On June 25, the Central Steering Committee forNatural Disaster Prevention and Control issued a dispatch to instruct Lai Chau,Dien Bien, Ha Giang, Son La, Cao Bang, Bac Kan, Tuyen Quang, Yen Bai and LaoCai provinces to enhance dissemination on natural disaster prevention throughmass media, in Vietnamese and ethnic languages, in order to minimise losses dueto rains and floods.

Earlier, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc alsoissued a dispatch asking relevant ministries, sectors and localities to focusresources on search and rescue along with activities to overcome floodconsequences in northern mountainous and midland provinces.

The dispatch stressed need to safely operate reservoirs and ensure safety indams and dykes routes in the affected localities, as well as smooth traffic onthe key national roads.-VNA