Flooding from Storm Trami kills five in Vietnam

HANOI - Flash flooding in central Vietnam killed five people, damaged hundreds of homes and destroyed crops, disaster authorities said on Oct 31, after Tropical Storm Trami dumped heavy rain across the country.

Trami hit central Vietnam on Oct 27 after tearing through the Philippines, where it killed more than 100 people.

In Vietnam, the storm brought heavy downpours that swelled rivers and took out power lines.

Five people died in Quang Binh province and five others were injured, the ministry of agriculture said in an online report Oct 31, as muddy floodwaters flowed through several remote communities.

More than 300 houses and nearly 1,300ha of crops were damaged, the ministry added.

Photos on state media showed floodwaters almost reaching the roofs of some one-storey homes in remote areas of Quang Binh, while in other communities residents worked to clean filthy buildings.

Water levels of rivers in the area are receding slowly, but several areas are still flooded.

Vietnam is prone to tropical storms, which often cause deadly flash floods and landslides, hitting the country between June and November every year.

But experts say human-driven climate change is causing more intense weather patterns that can make destructive floods more likely.

In September, northern Vietnam was devastated by Typhoon Yagi, which claimed 345 lives and caused an estimated economic loss of US$3.3 billion (S$4.36 billion). AFP