Torrential downpours triggered by Storm Sinlaku, which devolved into a tropical depression on Sunday afternoon, killed two people in northern Vietnam while flooding thousands of homes.
Sinlaku weakened on hitting Vietnam on Sunday afternoon. However, it caused heavy rains and strong winds across northern and central regions.
Do Van Manh, 40, a construction worker, died Sunday night inside his tent after a five-meter-high sea embankment collapsed following prolonged rains in Quang Ninh Province, the Central Steering Committee on Natural Disaster Prevention and Control reported.
A 31-year-old man was swept away by flash floods in Hoa Binh Province.
Over 2,400 ha of rice and 21 ha of other crops in the central province of Ha Tinh were inundated. In Dak Lak Province in the Central Highlands, 931 houses were flooded and over 4,000 ha of rice and other crops were destroyed.
Weather forecasters predict northern provinces would be hit by heavy rains of up to 250 mm until Wednesday. Rainfall of 180 mm a day is considered heavy.
Sinlaku is the second storm to appear on the East Sea, known internationally as the South China Sea, this year.
The first storm, Nuri, hit in mid-June. While it id not make landfall in Vietnam, it caused strong winds and heavy rains in several areas, including HCMC. At least one motorbike rider in the city was killed by a falling tree branch during a downpour on June 13.
The East Sea could see 11-13 storms and tropical depressions this year, half of them directly affecting the country, meteorologists have warned.
Natural disasters, mostly floods and landslides, killed 133 Vietnamese last year and caused losses worth around VND7 trillion ($302.6 million), according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Reported by Nguyen Quy, Minh Cuong, @Vnexpress