Thunderstorms wreak havoc on Mekong Delta localities

A house has its roof blown off in Luong Phi Commune, Tri Ton District, An Giang Province. (Photo: SGGP)

Thunderstorms caused 89 houses in Khanh Thuan, Khanh Tien and U Minh townships to collapse, with their roofs blown away. The damage was estimated at more than US$236 thousand (VND5.6 billion). In Ca Mau City, thunderstorms also collapsed and ripped off the roofs of more than 30 houses.

In Bac Lieu province, heavy rain and tornadoes in the past two days damaged 111 houses in the area, of which 59 houses collapsed and 52 houses had their roofs blown off. The tornado even led to the serious injury of Mr. Dang Van Dung (37 years old, Vinh Loc Commune, Hong Dan District), and the death of his wife, Ms. Men (36 years old).

Also on July 30, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Long An Province said that nearly 4,800 hectares of paddy fields in Vinh Hung District, Thanh Hoa District and Kien Tuong Town had been damaged.

Regarding Kien Giang Province, within the last two days and the early morning of July 31, heavy rain and thunderstorms injured 13 people. About 197 houses collapsed and had their roofs blown off, with an estimated damage of nearly $110,000 (VND2.6 billion); 3 fishing boats sunk; 14 electric poles and many trees collapsed; many roads in Rach Gia City were flooded. In Chau Thanh District, a large-scale downpour severely damaged 1,000 hectares of summer-autumn rice in the ripening stage, 4,000 hectares of autumn-winter rice in the seedling stage, 1.8 hectares of jackfruit, and 1.6 hectares of chili peppers.

In An Giang province, heavy rain also caused local floods in the O Ta Soc area at the foot of Dai mountain in Luong Phi Commune, Tri Ton District, An Giang Province. The large amount of water pouring down from the mountain washed away 6 motorbikes, damaged 13 houses in Luong Phi Commune, and flooded about 246.5 hectares of rice and vegetables.

According to the Luong Phi Commune People's Committee, by the afternoon of July 30, there had been 7 areas of landslides, with the high-slope landslide areas on Dai mountain (about 30-50 meters wide, 100-300 meters long), had not yet been approached.

Local authorities are striving to support people to relocate to a safe place and temporarily settle down.

According to Mr. Tang Vu Em, Vice Chairman of Ca Mau City People's Committee, the local government has directed functional forces and mass organizations to provide accommodation and food for families with damaged houses.

The Provincial Party Committee and People's Committee of Bac Lieu Province have directed local authorities to urgently arrange temporary accommodation, distribute necessities to support the victims, and mobilize forces to help people repair and rebuild new houses.

In related news, the People's Committee of Dat Do District in the Southeastern province of Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province reported there are 85 houses that have partially collapsed or had their roofs ripped off. Heavy rain accompanied by tornadoes resulted in collapsed light poles, broken trees, and severely damaged crops./.

By staff writers - Translated by Yen Ngan(SGGP)