Vietnam Floods Recede, Relief Missions Under Way
Date: 01-Dec-04
Country: VIETNAM
In Quang Ngai province, two helicopters managed to land in the mountainous district of Tay Tra late on Monday to deliver relief supplies for the first time since floods and bad weather cut off the area five days earlier.
In Thua Thien Hue province, 270,000 people were in need of urgent help. Officials said the main priority was to supply them with instant noodles, rice and kerosene.
Most of the 42 people listed as missing have turned up after the floods triggered by torrential rains from Typhoon Muifa last week submerged 170,000 houses in five provinces and destroyed roads.
"They were working in the forest when the floods came. More will return in the next days as the waters recede," said an official in Thua Thien Hue, where the number of missing dropped to four from 19.
Typhoon Muifa killed 61 people in the Philippines before weakening into a tropical storm and moving into the Gulf of Thailand last Thursday.
Vietnam is hit by seven to eight tropical storms each year, often triggering flash floods in the central region. Nearly 100 people were killed in floods in October and November last year.
