Storm death toll in Vietnam rises to over 100

Hanoi  - Flash floods and landslides triggered by heavy rain from tropical storm Kammuri killed 101 people and left 47 missing in northern Vietnam, officials said Monday.

Total damage in the nine provinces affected was estimated to be at least 720 billion dong (43 million dollars).

Floods and landslides washed away hundreds of kilometres of roads and inundated or damaged more than 4,200 houses and 8,690 hectares of crops, according to the Central Committee for Flood and Storm Control.

Total damages from floods and landslides in Lao Cai province were estimated at 300 billion dong (18 million dollars), according to Thao A Tua, head of the province's flood and storm department.

Tua said the death toll in the province had reached 37, while 38 others were reported as missing.

"There's no hope for the missing to be found alive," Tua said. "They might have all been washed away downstream or buried deep in mud."

Heavy rains killed 35 people in neighbouring Yen Bai province and caused and estimated 80 billion dong (4.8 million dollars) in damages, according to Tran Anh Van, an official with the flood and storm department of the province.

Damages were estimated at 300 billion dong (18 million dollars) in Phu Tho province, and at 40 billion dong (2.4 million dollars) in Ha Giang province.

Provincial officials said the rains had stopped and rescuers, including military forces, were searching for the missing and burying the dead.

The latest floods and landslides raised the total death toll from natural calamities in Vietnam this year to at least 129, and damages to at least 777 billion dong (47 million dollars), officials said. (dpa)

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