Floodwaters swallow two-story house in Vietnam minutes after family of 6 escapes

At around 8:15 a.m., the family felt the house tilt sharply and ran outside. About 15 minutes later, it toppled into the stream.

The house stood on a branch of the Nam Lum Stream in Giao Chan Hamlet, Khong Lao Commune. Three days of rain had raised the stream, and its current steadily cut into the foundation, a commune People’s Committee official said.

Rain across Lai Chau on July 6-7, driven by a low-pressure trough, damaged 24 houses and flooded nearly 10 hectares of rice and vegetable crops. Another 11 hectares of crops and 0.8 hectares of aquaculture were ruined, the province’s Department of Dyke Management and Disaster Prevention said.

Landslides blocked stretches of National Highways 4D, 4H and 12 as heavy rains affected many parts of the northern region.

Over three days, Mong Cai in Quang Ninh Province recorded 580 mm of rain, Doan Tinh 572 mm and Quang Lam 541 mm. Hua Bum in Lai Chau logged 396 mm, Nam Pam in Son La Province 356 mm and Huoi So in Dien Bien Province 272 mm.

From 7 p.m. on July 7 to 8 a.m. on July 8, Quang Lam recorded 273 mm and the Tan Binh reservoir 250 mm, both in Quang Ninh, and Ban Lang 2 in Lai Chau 141 mm.

In the six hours to 8 a.m. on July 8, Ban Lang 2 recorded 136 mm and Cam Pha in Quang Ninh 101 mm, the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting said.

A family of 6 people escaped when their two-story house collapsed into the stream

The center forecast 20 to 40 mm more across the mountains and midlands of northern Vietnam and Quang Ninh through the night of July 8, topping 100 mm in places, and 10 to 30 mm elsewhere in the north, exceeding 70 mm in spots.

With the ground near saturation, it warned of the risk of flash floods and landslides in Lai Chau, Lao Cai, Tuyen Quang, Thai Nguyen and Quang Ninh.