Flash flood causes 26 deaths in Vietnam

Flash flood caused by torrential rain has resulted in 26 deaths of local people in Vietnam's northern Ha Giang province.

The flood, lasting for 22 hours on July 18-19 in the province's Yen Minh district, also wounded seven people and swept away 13 houses, a local official said on Tuesday.

As of Tuesday noon, only two bodies of the victims were found, one of whom was a schoolteacher. Local authorities are searching for people listed as missing and giving assistance to households badly affected by the flood.

Natural disasters claimed 7,760 human lives and caused total losses of 40 trillion Vietnamese dong (2.5 billion US dollars) in Vietnam between 1996 and 2002.

Source: Xinhua