HANOI, Oct 10 (Xinhua) — Heavy rains and floods triggered by Typhoon Matmo have left 15 people dead and eight others injured across northern and north-central Vietnam, the Vietnam Disaster and Dyke Management Authority said Friday, reported Xinhua.
More than 225,000 houses were submerged and over 1,500 others severely damaged, while about 24,000 hectares of rice and other crops were inundated, it said. Nearly 587,000 livestock and poultry were killed or swept away. The typhoon also caused serious disruptions to transportation, with 27 road sections blocked due to flooding and landslides, it added. Power outages affected about 181,000 households, while telecommunications networks in several provinces remained partially disrupted, according to the agency.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Thursday directed ministries and agencies to actively support local authorities in overcoming the aftermath of Typhoon Matmo, Vietnam News Agency reported Friday.
Meanwhile, Vietnam has called on international partners to provide emergency and recovery assistance after a series of severe natural disasters this year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment said on Thursday at a meeting in Hanoi with international organisations and embassies under the Disaster Risk Reduction Partnership.
Deputy Minister Nguyen Hoang Hiep said economic losses were estimated at 35 trillion Vietnamese dong (about US$1.3 billion) and that the disasters were expected to reduce the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 0.2 per cent, according to local media VNExpress.
Vietnam has so far this year experienced 11 typhoons, including six that made landfall, and four tropical depressions, which have left 238 people dead and nearly 400 injured, along with extensive damage to houses, farmland and public infrastructure, the report said.
