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Viet Nam

Northern provinces clean up after heavy rain, whirlwind

Authorised agencies in the northern mountainous provinces of Bac Kan, Lao Cai and Tuyen Quang have assessed the damage and set up supports to remedy the damages of recent hail and whirlwind.

The move aims to help local people stabilise their daily life and return to production work.

Hail and whirlwind were a part of last Friday's midnight storm that destroyed over 2,200 houses and a number of crop areas in the districts of Bao Yen and Bao Thang, with an estimated damage of billions of dong in Lao Cai Province.

In an effort to remedy the aftermath, authorities of the two districts provided thousands of sq. metres of roofing shingles to help local people rebuild their houses, as well as seed to re-cultivate their crops.

The hail and whirlwinds injured three people and collapsed more than 2,100 houses in Bac Kan Province, said Trieu Van Thanh, deputy head of the provincial Irrigation and Flood and Storm Prevention Division.

The size of the hail was believed to be 0.5-3cm, with the storm occurring within 4-7 minutes, Thanh said.

According to the division, the initial damage caused by the hail and whirlwind was estimated at VND24 billion (US$1.1 million).

In Na Ri District, around 540 ha of rice, maize and crop were reported to be damaged.

In Tuyen Quang Province's in Tuyen Quang City, the storm destroyed a local house killing a 59-year-old woman, a 22-year-old girl and injuring a six-year-old child, all members of Dao-ethnic family.

Local authorities have provided VND14 million ($673) as support to the victims' family.