Landslide Kills 16 In Vietnam, Many Missing: State Media

Hanoi, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 11th Sep, 2024) A landslide triggered by flash flooding in the wake of Typhoon Yagi killed at least 16 people in northern Vietnam and left scores missing, state media reported Wednesday.

A total of 128 people were buried in the disaster in the village of Nu, in Lao Cai province, on Tuesday, multiple reports said, with at least 30 rescued but many more still missing.

Yagi struck Vietnam at the weekend, bringing winds in excess of 149 kilometres (92 miles) per hour and a deluge of rain that has caused flooding not seen in decades, according to locals.

The landslide took place in a remote mountainous area and rescue work is difficult, state-run Tuoi Tre newspaper said, adding there was no internet in the area and traffic was cut off.

"Authorities are mobilising forces to approach the landslide area to continue the search for survivors," district party chief Hoang Quoc Bao said, according to Tuoi Tre.

The landslide came as tens of thousands of people were forced to flee their homes on Tuesday, with many stranded on rooftops and posting desperate pleas for help on social media.

Typhoons in the region are forming closer to the coast, intensifying more rapidly, and staying over land longer due to climate change, according to a study published in July.