Record floods in South Central Vietnam leave 85 dead and missing

According to information from the National Civil Defense Steering Committee as of 5 p.m. on November 22, floods in the South Central region have killed 72 people and left 13 missing.

Of which, Dak Lak is the locality with the highest number of deaths and missing people (44 deaths, 8 missing people).

On November 22, the Ministry of National Defense mobilized more than 18,220 officers and soldiers along with nearly 680 cars, 1,170 boats, 2 airplanes, 2 flycams, and 3 service dogs to participate in overcoming the consequences of floods.

On the afternoon of November 22, two Mi-171 helicopters of the 917th Helicopter Regiment (370th Air Division, Air Defense - Air Force Service) dropped 4 tons of essential supplies and medicine in Hoa Xuan commune, Dak Lak province. These are localities that have experienced many days of isolation due to severe floods.

Mi-171 helicopters with serial number SAR-02 and Mi-171 with serial number 8431, with experienced pilots of Regiment 917 taking on the roles of captain and main pilot.

It is expected that on the morning of November 23, Regiment 917 will continue to take off to transport relief goods and organize rescue flights for people in flooded areas in Dak Lak province.

Helicopters drop relief goods in Dak Lak (Photo: Air Defense - Air Force).

Due to the influence of cold air and strong easterly winds from 7am on November 16 until now, in the area from Quang Tri to Khanh Hoa, there has been heavy to very heavy rain over a wide area, locally over 1,700mm in some places.

In particular, from 7:00 p.m. on November 18 to 7:00 p.m. on November 19, heavy rain over a large area forced reservoirs to operate and regulate to ensure safety.

As a result, floods on major rivers in Dak Lak, Gia Lai, and Khanh Hoa rose very quickly, in many places above alert level 3 (BĐ3), and in some places exceeded historical flood levels.

Heavy rain has caused many localities in the South Central region to be deeply flooded, cutting off and isolating traffic.

Helicopters drop relief goods in Dak Lak (Video: Air Defense - Air Force).