Post-typhoon floods leave 18 dead or missing in northern Vietnam, cause $207 mln in damage

Flooding triggered by torrential rains following typhoon Matmo has caused extensive damage across northern Vietnam localities, leaving 18 people dead or missing, hundreds of thousands of homes inundated, and infrastructure severely damaged.

As of 5.30 p.m. on Friday, preliminary reports from the affected localities estimated total losses at more than VND5.45 trillion (about $207 million).

Thai Nguyen province suffered the heaviest damage at around VND2.4 trillion, followed by Cao Bang with VND2 trillion and Lang Son with VND1.05 trillion, according to the Disaster and Dyke Management Authority under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment.

Downpour submerged over 230,000 houses, with Thai Nguyen accounting for the majority, 200,000. Other severely affected areas include Bas Ninh (11,061 houses), Cao Bang (7,500), Hanoi (8,186), and Lang Son (3,000). By Friday afternoon, nearly 66,650 houses remained under water, including over 54,000 in Thai Nguyen.

In the agricultural sector, approximately 25,261 hectares of rice and other crops were inundated or destroyed. Floods also killed or swept away more than 13,000 livestock and over 690,000 poultry, seriously affecting the livelihoods of local residents.

In Lang Son, the Bac Khe 1 hydropower dam in Tan Tien commune, storing about 4 million cubic metres of water and having an output of 2 MW, broke as the water level surged. Thanks to timely warnings and prompt response, authorities safely evacuated 803 households before the incident, preventing loss of life.

Dyke systems were also hit hard, with 49 incidents recorded across Thai Nguyen, Bac Ninh, and Hanoi, six more than the previous day. Bac Ninh alone reported 40 incidents.

Transport infrastructure suffered widespread disruption, with 20 points along national highways eroded or submerged, causing traffic blockages.

Thai Nguyen reported eight such sites, while Hanoi and Bac Ninh each had four. The Hanoi-Dong Dang railway was temporarily suspended. Numerous rural roads were also cut off, hampering rescue operations and the delivery of essential supplies.

In the power and telecommunications sectors, nearly 550,000 customers in Thai Nguyen, Bac Ninh, Cao Bang, and Lang Sơn experienced outages. Power has been restored for about 421,000 customers while around 128,600 remain without electricity, nearly 58,000 of them in Thai Nguyen.

Some data and public telecommunications networks were also disrupted, with 125 base transceiver stations (BTS) down in Thai Nguyen, though services at 13 BTS in Hanoi have been restored.

Local authorities continue to assess damage and mobilize resources to support affected communities in recovery and reconstruction efforts, said the authority.