Severe flooding and landslides caused by a tropical depression have killed more than 80 people in Vietnam, the government said on Tuesday. Thousands of rescue workers continue to search for nearly two dozen missing people.
Tropical Depression 23W was a relatively weak system but unleashed torrential rain over northern and central Vietnam, causing the country’s worst flooding in decades. Nearly 50,000 houses across the region were flooded or destroyed.
At least 83 people were confirmed to have died as of Tuesday, according to an update from the National Search and Rescue Committee. 21 people remain missing, including 5 people who were buried by a landslide in Hoa Binh province.
In addition to homes which have been destroyed, an estimated 75,600 hectares (186,800 acres) of agricultural crops – most of them rice fields – have been flooded. The worst affected region is Thanh Hoa province, where some 327 millimeters (12.8 inches) of rain was recorded.
Remnants from Typhoon Khanun are expected to bring further rain this week.
The latest disaster comes just a month after Typhoon Doksuri hit central provinces, killing at least 11 people and injuring more than 100 others. The typhoon also damaged 160,000 homes, left more than half a million people without power, and flooded nearly 29,000 hectares (71,600 acres) of crops.
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