Floods and other natural disasters triggered by heavy downpours have killed four people and left four others injured in northern and central Vietnam over the past few days, the country's Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control said on Wednesday. Among the victims, two were dead and four were injured due to landslides in the northern Tuyen Quang province, one was killed after being swiped away by floods in the northern Hoa Binh province, and one from the central Quang Ngai province was struck dead by lightning, according to the Committee. From May 21 to 24, heavy downpours were witnessed in northern and central Vietnam, with the accumulative rainfall surpassing 900 mm in some areas, Xinhua news agency reported.
Nearly 19,300 hectare of rice fields and other croplands were submerged, while around 6,900 cattle and poultry animals were killed, said the Committee. Heavy rains are expected to continue in Vietnam's northern, central highlands and southern localities in the next few days, according to the Committee. In the first four months of this year, natural disasters have left 19 people dead or missing and 11 others injured in Vietnam, according to the country's General Statistics Office. The disasters also caused economic losses of nearly 3.6 trillion Vietnamese dong (Nearly $156.2 million) from January to April, nearly 42 times as much as the same period of 2021, said the office.