The third tropical storm of the year made landfall in Vietnam causing casualties and serious damage to anything in its path.

Authorities said Wednesday that four people had drowned and 10 fishermen were missing in addition to damaged houses, crops, and infrastructure.

In Quang Binh Province:

Strong winds blew off the roofs of many homes in Quang Binh Province (Photo by Hong Ky)

Hoang Minh De, Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of Tuyen Hoa District said that on August 24, two men were swept away while trying to cross a river to get home however, their bodies had not been recovered yet. Both victims were living in Kim Ninh Hamlet, Kim Hoa Commune.

Torrential rainfall during the night of August 23 and 24 caused flooding in many areas of Quang Binh Province. In Minh Hoa District, the route leading to villages which are home to 85 families and about 220 people of the Ruc minority ethnic group was flooded and isolated from surrounding areas.

The Border Protection Station No. 585 prepared 30 tonnes of rice, salt and other essential items to assist the affected locals and at present, there are 35 border guards and officers who have come to assist.

In addition, the National Road No.12A heading to Cha Lo International Border Gate has also been covered with water. Water has gone up to over 1 metre at some parts of the road.

In Hien Ninh and Duy Ninh communes, Quang Ninh District, one house collapsed, the roofs of 29 houses and 2 schools were blown off, dozens of big trees and power poles were knocked down and most of the unharvested rice paddies were destroyed.

Quang Binh Province’s Steering Committee for Flood & Storm Prevention & Control and the Committee for Search and Rescue said 3,000 hectares of rice paddies of low lying areas had flooded.

Strong winds knocked down trees

Unharvested rice paddies were destroyed

In Nghe An Province:

Strong winds caused difficulties for drivers (Photo by Nguyen Duy)

Most roads in Vinh City were flooded. According to Nghe An Province’s Steering Committee for Flood & Storm Prevention & Control, 1,817 families have been evacuated.

In Quynh Luu District, roofs of 550 houses were blown off. Five fishing boats in Quynh Phuong Commune sunk due to heavy rain and strong winds.

In Nghi Loc District, there were three injuries.

At 3.30pm on August 24, hundreds of trees were knocked down. On Quang Trung Road there was a traffic collision and traffic was jammed. Most drivers could not operate their vehicles due to strong winds.

On the morning of August 24, over 2,200 ships and boats of Quynh Luu District had been brought to safe places. 645 families with over 3,700 people living in coastal and vulnerable areas had been evacuated.

At 3pm on August 24, the storm had made its landfall on Quynh Luu District, threatening over 8,000 hectares of rice paddies.

At 7am on August 25, Nghe An Province’s Steering Committee for Flood & Storm Prevention & Control said that a 9-year-old boy drowned and there were 5 injuries reported. The roofs of 16 schools and over 3,700 houses were blown off, 22 houses collapsed, nearly 3,300 power poles were knocked down, 5,900 hectares of rice fields were flooded, over 4,000 hectares of corn and nearly 1,400 hectares of subsidiary crops were destroyed. Two ships were also reported to have sunk.

Below are some pictures of the storm’s aftermath in Vinh City, Nghe An Province:

Trees and advertisement boards were knocked down on Quang Trung Road

Trees knocked down on Nguyen Thai Hoc Road

Le Hong Phong and Nguyen Van Cu streets flooded

In Ha Tinh Province:

One man has been reported dead. Many trees were knocked down and many houses lost their roofs which were blown off in Thach Kim Commune, Loc Ha District, the most vulnerable area of the province.

Ha Tinh braces for the storm (Photo by Van Dung)

In Long Hai Hamlet, before the storm made landfall, many families living next to the seashore had not yet moved to safe places.

Dang Ngoc Son, Party District Secretary of Loc Ha District said, “Since early morning, families living in the coastal area had been informed to evacuate before the storm hit. However, many tried to stay to celebrate Vu Lan festival. We would direct commune authorities to bring these people to safe places.”

In Quang Tri Province:

Water spilled over Hai Truong dyke (Photo by Nguyen Huong)

Heavy rains fell throughout the whole province. Thousands of hectares of crops and rice were flooded at a height of 0.5-1 metre in Hai Lang, Trieu Phong, Gio Linh and Vinh Linh districts. 14 houses and one kindergarten of Vinh Linh, Hai Lang and Con Co collapsed.

Ships docked at Hai Khe Commune, Hai Lang District were seriously damaged. In addition, in Hai Lang District, roofs of 6 houses were blown off and over 200 trees were knocked down. Several power cables were also broken and harvesting rice has also been affected.

Farmers living in My, Trung hamlets of Hai Truong Commune were trying to harvest their rice despite heavy rain.

In Thanh Hoa Province, people living in high risk coastal areas of Hai Binh, Hai Thanh communes, Tinh Gia District were evacuated. At 5pm on August 24, winds started blowing stronger and many trees were knocked down.

Flooded houses (Photo by Duy Tuyen)

In Da Nang City, a fishing boat with 10 crew members on board was reported missing.

The boat had radioed for help Tuesday when its engine broke down and it was being towed to shore by a rescue ship when the tow line broke. Rescue boats and helicopters have so far been unable to locate the ship.