Hanoi (AsiaNews/Agencies) - The death toll from flooding caused by recent heavy rains in central Vietnam has risen to 41. About 80,000 people were forced to leave their homes in a haste, as waters and mud flowed.
In an official statement released a few hours ago, the National Floods and Storms Control Agency announced that floods had affected some 450,000 houses, but that flood waters were already receding, with many residents returning home.
Heavy rains began on 14 November, causing landslides and flooding in many areas.
Official sources said that six central provinces suffered casualties with Binh Dinh the worst-hit with 18 people dead and five missing.
Floods also injured 74 people and damaged 4,300 hectares of rice paddies and other crops, with negative impact on the country's farm output.
Tropical Depression Zoraida dumped a daily average of 700 millimetres of rain from Thursday to Sunday, decreasing to 30 millimetres on Monday, which helped rescue operations.
Given the huge amount of rainfall, the authorities were forced to release reservoir water from ten hydroelectric power plants to avoid damages.
The combination of heavy rains and the release of reservoir water flooded farmland and villages.
Vietnam is prone to floods and storms, with hundreds of deaths and large-scale damage each year.