Accordingly, landslides triggered by downpours at Ranger Station No 7 and the Rao Trang 3 hydropower plant construction site in the central province buried several soldiers in the rescue team and workers at the construction site.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on October 13 sent a dispatch asking the relevant agencies and organisations to sharpen their focus on rescue efforts and to take remedial action in the wake of the landslides.

Thua Thien Hue province has mobilised various forces and means in coordination with the Military Region 4 to accelerate landslide relief at the Rao Trang 3 hydropower plant. (Photo: baothuathienhue.vn).

The PM ordered the relevant ministries, agencies and local units, as well as Military Region 4 to organise search and rescue operations in a timely manner, ensuring the safety of both people and equipment.

He also asked the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the provincial People’s Committee to inspect the safety situation at the hydropower plant’s reservoir and to outline measures to guarantee safety.

The central region has been ravaged by rain and flooding since last week, after a cold spell came in contact with tropical turbulence. Thua Thien Hue has reported six fatalities, three people missing, and thousands of homes inundated.

Also on October 13, Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung went to Phong Xuan commune, about 30km from Rao Trang 3 Hydropower Plant, to survey the landslides and direct the rescue work.

Lt. Gen. Nguyen Doan Anh, Commander of Military Region 4, said that the rescue effort is facing difficulties due to bad weather and the huge volume of land and rocks that has blocked all routes to the site. The rescue team are using all means to pave the way to the hydroelectric plant area, and are about 2 km away from the scene of the landslide.

Deputy PM Dung requested the rescue forces urgently find ways to approach the scene, while mobilising more means to quickly free the way to the site.

On the same day, the Thua Thien Hua Party Committee announced the postponement of the upcoming 16th Congress of the Provincial Party Organisation for the term 2020-2025 to focus on the flooding and natural disaster response. The Provincial Party Standing Committee will decide an alternative time to hold the congress later with the approval of the Politburo.

* On October 13, the National Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Response convened an urgent meeting to discuss measures to cope with Typhoon Nangka, which is forecast to hit the mainland tomorrow.

As the seventh storm in the East Sea (South China Sea) so far this year, Nangka is moving fast towards the Gulf of Tonkin and is predicted to hit provinces in the southern part of the northern delta and those in the north-central region around noon and in the afternoon of October 14.

Rains of up to and over 400 mm will fall in some places until October 16. The hardest-hit areas will be northern Son La, Hoa Binh, Thanh Hoa, and Nghe An provinces, as well as others in the northern delta.

Representatives from the border guard and the steering committee’s office said vessels and people living on floating facilities have been urged to seek safety, while 18.5 tonnes of dry provisions have been delivered to the central region.

Deputy chief of the steering committee’s office, Vu Xuan Thanh, ordered all sectors and localities to follow the Prime Minister’s directions, stressing the necessity of ensuring safe shelter for vessels and people, inspections of hydropower facilities, and rice aid for storm-hit residents, amongst other matters.