Eight Dead As Floods Wreck Havoc In Vietnam
At least eight people have been killed and five others declared missing as heavy floods submerged several communities on Wednesday in northern Vietnam following torrential rains brought by Typhoon Matmo.
According to government reports, tens of thousands of residents in Thai Nguyen city—about 80 kilometres north of Hanoi—were trapped in their homes or forced to flee as floodwaters rose to rooftop levels.
The environment ministry confirmed that the victims died in flash floods and landslides across the mountainous regions of Thai Nguyen, Cao Bang, and Lang Son since Monday.
By Wednesday morning, the weather bureau recorded the Cau River’s level in Thai Nguyen at over a metre higher than the previous record of 28.81 metres—set during Typhoon Yagi’s devastating impact in September 2024.
Social media users flooded platforms with desperate pleas for help. One user, Thoan Vu, wrote, “Our ground floor was totally flooded. My parents and five kids were stuck, with not enough food and water. No communication since late Tuesday. They need urgent help.”
Local resident Nguyen Van Nguyen, 60, told AFP, “I have never witnessed such a terrible flood since I was born. There has never been flooding here in my street but now my ground floor is all submerged.”
The Vietnamese military deployed two helicopters to deliver emergency supplies—including water, noodles, dry cake, milk, and lifejackets—to stranded residents in Lang Son province near the Chinese border.
Officials said Typhoon Matmo weakened before landfall on Monday but still caused widespread destruction, coming barely a week after Typhoon Bualoi, which killed at least 56 people and inflicted over $710 million in economic losses.
Experts warn that human-induced climate change is intensifying extreme weather events such as typhoons, making them increasingly deadly and destructive.
AFP
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