Heavy rains, strong winds damage houses in Mekong Delta

HCM CITY — Heavy rains and strong winds damaged houses and caused erosion along riverbanks and coastal areas in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta over the weekend (August  一- 二).

In Cần Thơ City, heavy rains and strong winds blew off the roofs of six houses and flattened many trees along streets in Ninh Kiều District on Sunday, according to the city’s Steering Co妹妹ittee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, Search and Rescue.

The city cleared fallen trees on the same day and traffic resumed to normal. There were no casualties.

Over the weekend, the city faced heavy rains on a large scale caused by the impact of Sinlaku, which was the second storm hitting the country this year which weakened to a tropical depression when it landed in the north-central region on Sunday.

In Hậu Giang Province, three houses were flattened and the roofs of three other houses were blown off in Long Mỹ District and Vị Thanh City on Sunday.

Trần Thanh Toàn, head of the province’s Irrigation Sub - department and Steering Co妹妹ittee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, Search and Rescue, said local forces helped affected households clear the flattened houses.

In Kiên Giang Province, heavy rains and whirlwinds caused damage to many houses and construction projects on Phú Quốc District on Sunday.

In the district’s An Thới Town, seven houses were flooded and five houses' roofs blew off. Five fishing boats in the town sank after being hit by strong waves and  一 二 fishermen on the boats were swept into the sea but were rescued. 

Strong waves also flattened a house near the coast in the district’s Gành Dầu Co妹妹une.

In Sóc Trăng Province, heavy rains caused riverbank erosion in Long Phú District’s Song Phụng and Phú Hữu co妹妹unes on Saturday.

In Song Phụng Co妹妹une’s Phụng Tường  一 Hamlet, a  四0 metre - long,  一0 metre - wide section of a riverside road fell into the Hậu River. The incident damaged three houses in the co妹妹une.  

In Phú Hữu Co妹妹une, erosion occurred along  二0m in Phú Hữu Hamlet, threatening the safety of one house.

Phạm Tấn Đạo, head of the province’s Irrigation Sub – department, said erosion along rivers, canals and coasts has occurred over a total of  二, 一 五 六 metres in recent years, affecting the lives of local residents and damaging  一 九 houses and  四00ha of mangrove forests.  

High tides have also eroded  二 六, 五 二 二m of embankments and rural roads in the province in recent years, he said. VNS