HANOI: Flash floods struck Vietnam’s mountainous north overnight, killing at least three people while nine others are missing, disaster authorities said Friday.
Heavy rain of up to 30 centimeters triggered the floods in the provinces of Son La, Phu Tho, Tuyen Quang and especially Dien Bien, isolating several communities.
The ministry of agriculture said three people were killed while a search is ongoing for nine others in Dien Bien province’s Tia Dinh and Xa Dung communes.
State media quoted local authorities as saying rain was heavy from 3:00 am, triggering flash floods from upstream.
Several villages became flooded and remained inaccessible by Friday afternoon.
Last weekend, flash floods claimed five lives in Son La province, inundating crops and washing away poultry and cattle.
Vietnam is now in its tropical storm season, which often cause deadly floods and landslides.
Scientists say human-driven climate change is causing more intense weather patterns that can make destructive floods more likely.
In September 2024, Typhoon Yagi devastated northern Vietnam, leaving 345 people dead and causing an estimated economic loss of $3.3 billion.
![]()
Flash floods kill three in Vietnam, nine missing
Flash floods kill three in Vietnam, nine missing
- Heavy rain of up to 30 centimeters triggered the floods in the provinces of Son La, Phu Tho, Tuyen Quang and especially Dien Bien
- Vietnam is now in its tropical storm season, which often cause deadly floods and landslides
Myanmar junta denies killing civilians in hospital strike
YANGON: Myanmar’s military junta denied on Saturday killing civilians in a hospital air strike that left more than 30 people dead.
A military jet bombed late Wednesday the general hospital of Mrauk-U in western Rakhine state, bordering Bangladesh, two aid workers said.
“Those killed or injured were not civilians, but terrorists and their supporters,” said an article in the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar (GNLM).
The ruling junta has increased air strikes year-on-year since the start of the country’s civil war, conflict monitors say, after seizing power in a 2021 coup ending a decade-long experiment with democracy.
The United Nations on Thursday demanded an investigation, saying the attack could constitute a war crime.
Health workers and patients were killed, and “hospital infrastructure was severely damaged, with operating rooms and the main inpatient ward completely destroyed,” said World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on X.
Rakhine state is controlled almost in its entirety by the Arakan Army (AA), an ethnic minority separatist force active long before the military toppled the civilian government of democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The separatist force said in a statement that 33 people were killed and 76 wounded in the strike.
People’s Defense Forces (PDF) have also risen up to oppose the military coup four years ago.
The junta “carried out necessary security measures and launched a Counter-Terrorism Operation on 10 December against the buildings being used as a base by AA and PDF terrorists,” GNLM said.
A military jet bombed late Wednesday the general hospital of Mrauk-U in western Rakhine state, bordering Bangladesh, two aid workers said.
“Those killed or injured were not civilians, but terrorists and their supporters,” said an article in the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar (GNLM).
The ruling junta has increased air strikes year-on-year since the start of the country’s civil war, conflict monitors say, after seizing power in a 2021 coup ending a decade-long experiment with democracy.
The United Nations on Thursday demanded an investigation, saying the attack could constitute a war crime.
Health workers and patients were killed, and “hospital infrastructure was severely damaged, with operating rooms and the main inpatient ward completely destroyed,” said World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on X.
Rakhine state is controlled almost in its entirety by the Arakan Army (AA), an ethnic minority separatist force active long before the military toppled the civilian government of democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The separatist force said in a statement that 33 people were killed and 76 wounded in the strike.
People’s Defense Forces (PDF) have also risen up to oppose the military coup four years ago.
The junta “carried out necessary security measures and launched a Counter-Terrorism Operation on 10 December against the buildings being used as a base by AA and PDF terrorists,” GNLM said.
Latest updates
© 2025 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.