Victims of the devastating typhoon are in dire need of rice, fish sauce, salt, toothpaste and washing powder

The Cuông 2 Village in Xuân Hoà Commune, Bảo Yên District is isolated by flood water. — VNA/VNS Photo Hoàng Hiếu

LÀO CAI —  People in Bảo Yên District, Lào Cai northern mountainous province are in dire need of fish sauce, salt, toothpaste, laundry detergent and rice, said Đàm Văn Hoàng, head of the Xuân Hoà Commune Military Command.

The commune has over 1,800 households with over 9,000 people.

Before the typhoon, local authorities proactively asked people to move to safe places, however, due to the severity of the weather 41 houses were destroyed and 158 others were severely damaged.

Currently, the commune is coordinating with village leaders to tally up the damage, gradually supporting people to build temporary shelters and stabilise their lives.

For households which lost their homes, the commune is putting together a list of accommodation needs and will report to the district People's Committee to support people to rebuild.

Hoàng warned: “Relief teams are bringing to local people too many instant noodles, bread and milk, which are wasteful and do not meet actual needs.”

Gradually improving

Damage recovery and disaster relief is being urgently carried out in Bảo Yên District.

According to the Vietnam News Agency reporter, in Cuông 1 and Cuông 3 villages of Xuân Hoà Commune, along National Highway 279, trucks carrying relief goods have now been able to move.

However, in Cuông 2 Village, roads are still buried by rocks and soil and can only be accessed by motorboat, so the amount of essentials reaching the people is still limited.

Although the water level in the Chảy River has dropped, it is still flowing strongly, making it very dangerous to cross the river by small motorboat.

Head of Cuông 2 Village Long Văn Hậu said that the village had 91 households with 404 people, mainly from the ethnic Tày group.

Because it is located on the Chảy River’s banks, three households lost their houses, while others suffered loss of agricultural crops. Local authorities have built three temporary shelters for residents.

Last Sunday night, rising river water levels cut off Cuông 3 Village completely, with the only road in totally submerged. The water has now receded but there are landslides along the road.

In Bảo Yên District, 97 households suffered human losses, including 67 deaths and 30 injuries. Eight people are being treated at the district medical centre, the rest were taken to provincial and central hospitals.

It is estimated that over 4,200 households were hit. As many as 509 houses were totally destroyed, 641 homes were virtually destroyed, severe damage impacted about 2,019 houses and 1049 houses suffered at least some damage.

Deputy Director of the Bảo Yên District Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Nhữ Thị Tâm said that there were many subsidence and landslide points in the district.

In Phố Giàng Town and Thượng Hà Commune, extensive cracks have appeared, some of which are nearly 2 metres wide.

The district people's committee has directed the agencies to closely monitor the area, guide and make detailed statistics of affected households and report to the provincial people's committee and coordinate with relief teams to provide a precise assessment of what they need. — VNS