Flash flood sweeps away hamlet as Vietnam's storm toll rises to 155 dead

A flash flood swept away an entire hamlet in northern Vietnam killing 30 people and leaving dozens missing as deaths from a typhoon and its aftermath climbed to 155 on WednesdayVietnamese state broadcaster VTV said the torrent of water gushing down from a mountain in Lao Cai province Tuesday buried Lang Nu hamlet with 35 families in mud and debrisOnly about a dozen are known so far to have survived Rescuers have recovered 30 bodies and are continuing the search for about 65 othersThe death toll from Typhoon Yagi and its aftermath has climbed to 155 Another 141 people are missing and hundreds were injured VTV saidFloods and landslides have caused most of the deaths many of which have come in the northwestern Lao Cai province bordering China where Lang Nu is located Lao Cai province is also home to the popular trekking destination of SapaMany roads in the province were blocked by landslides and unrelenting rainfall said Sapa tour guide Van A Po The weather has forced them to limit travel with all trekking suspendedIt is very scaryrdquo he saidTourism is a key engine for the local economy and many in the industry found themselves stranded Nguyen Van Luong who works in a hotel said he couldnt return home since the 15kilometre road from Sapa to his village was too dangerous to driveldquoThe road is badly damaged and landslides could happen anytime My family told me to stay here until its safer to go homerdquo On Monday a bridge collapsed and a bus was swept away by flooding killing dozens of peopleThe steel bridge in Phu Tho province over the engorged Red River collapsed sending 10 cars and trucks along with two motorbikes into the river The bus carrying 20 people was swept into a flooded stream by a landslide in mountainous Cao Bang provinceYagi was the strongest typhoon to hit the Southeast Asian country in decades It made landfall Saturday with winds of up to 149 kph Despite weakening on Sunday downpours have continued and rivers remain dangerously highThe heavy rains also damaged factories in exportfocused northern Vietnams industrial hubsStorms like Typhoon Yagi are ldquogetting stronger due to climate change primarily because warmer ocean waters provide more energy to fuel the storms leading to increased wind speeds and heavier rainfallrdquo said Benjamin Horton director of the Earth Observatory of SingaporeThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever