Death Toll from Vietnam Floods Reaches 41

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

HANOI — The death toll from floods triggered by Typhoon Hagupit rose to 41 as rescue workers began to reach isolated villages devastated by the storm, which has caused at least US $65 million in damage, officials said Monday.

At least five people were still missing and feared dead in the storm, which washed away more than 1,000 houses and damaged 10,000 more, according to Vietnam’s committee on floods and storm control.

The storm has caused at least $65 million in damages, the committee said Monday.

In the worst-hit province of Son La, two more bodies were found on Sunday, bringing the toll there to 16. Three people were still missing, said provincial disaster official Trinh Ngoc Bao.

Some areas are inaccessible by cars or trucks, complicating rescue efforts, he said.

“Rescue workers have to walk to stranded areas to get aid to people,” Bao said. “In many villages, people have had no food for several days.”

The torrential downpours have eased and floodwaters have receded in most areas. On Sunday, Vietnamese television broadcast images of villagers returning to survey the damage, cleaning mud and debris from their property.

The death toll in Lang Son Province reached 10 people, and one person remained unaccounted for, local officials said.

In the neighboring province of Bac Giang, nine people drowned, including two children, said official Bui Lien Son.

In Quang Ninh Province, home of the popular Ha Long Bay tourist site, floods have killed five people, said disaster official Nguyen Thanh Nam.

None of them were tourists, Nam said.

Roads to one isolated district are expected to be restored later Monday, allowing officials to provide aid to people still stranded there.

Earlier, soldiers used amphibious vehicles to deliver relief supplies to villagers stranded in two districts.

Floods have also killed a person in Vinh Phuc and left another missing in Lao Cai province, officials there said.

The storm slammed into northern Vietnam on Thursday after killing 10 people in China.