Hanoi - Three days of flash floods have killed at least 20 people, left 18 missing and damaged many homes and roads in northern Vietnam, the country's Central Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Control said Monday. Thirteen people were killed when landslides buried their homes following heavy rains Friday night in Bac Kan province.
Heavy rains started on Friday and were still falling on Monday, hitting the six northern provinces of Bac Kan, Cao Bang, Ha Giang, Lai Chau, Lao Cai and Son La.
The rain swept away crops and houses, caused landslides and disrupted traffic.
Local television and Vietnam Television on Monday broadcast pictures showing many houses flooded to their roofs.
The state-run Vietnam News on Monday reported many districts in these provinces had been completely cut off due to washed out roads, and severed electricity and telephone lines.
Rescue teams were deployed to some isolated communities to evacuate flood victims.
Vietnam's Central Hydro-Meteorological Forecast Center said the floods were caused by rainfall topping between 100 and more than 250 millimeters in some areas in three nights since Friday.
The centre said that the heavy rains would continue, so water levels in rivers such as the Red River would continue to rise over the next few days.
Last year, natural disasters killed 550 people in Vietnam and caused damage amounting to more than 700 million dollars.
