Rescuers race to find missing as death toll rises to 55 – Firstpost

Rescuers rushed to find more than a dozen people still missing on Saturday after a week of heavy flooding in Vietnam, where officials said at least 55 people had died.

It has been raining continuously in south-central Vietnam since late October and popular holiday destinations have been hit by several rounds of flooding.

Entire city blocks in coastal Nha Trang were submerged this week, while deadly landslides occurred on high mountain passes around the tourist center of Da Lat.

At least 55 people have been killed in six provinces since Sunday, while the search for 13 others continues, the Environment Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

It said the mountainous Dak Lak province was hardest hit, with more than two dozen deaths.

According to government media reports, even after the flood waters receded on Friday, rescue workers are still rescuing people from trees and roofs of houses.

The Environment Ministry said several highways remained impassable on Saturday and 300,000 people were without power after the blackout, which initially affected more than a million people.

According to the Office of National Statistics, natural disasters in Vietnam between January and October left 279 people dead or missing and caused more than $2 billion in damage.

The Southeast Asian nation is prone to heavy rainfall between June and September, but scientists have identified a pattern of human-induced climate change that makes extreme weather more frequent and destructive.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Firstpost staff.)