Vietnam flood toll hits 59; aid groups hope for respite

September 21, 2000
Web posted at: 1:22 PM HKT (0522 GMT)

MEKONG DELTA, Vietnam (Reuters) -- The worst floods in Vietnam's Mekong Delta for decades swelled on Thursday and the death toll surged to at least 59, but aid agencies hope an end to the misery is in sight.

In the low-lying Delta, over half a million homes have been flooded, many to the rafters, and about 150,000 people forced to flee their homes to seek refuge on crumbling earthen dykes surrounded by waters five or more metres (16 feet) deep.

John Geoghegan, head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Vietnam, said data from neighbouring Cambodia showed water levels on the Mekong River in the northern province of Stung Treng had fallen more than half a metre in the past two days.

This should be reflected in the Delta over the next week, provided rainfall remained moderate, but it could be two months before the water levels return to normal.

"It's brilliant if it continues -- it's great," said Geoghegan. "But there's still no change in the southern Cambodian gauging stations."

He said at least 115,000 people in the Delta were still in need of evacuation.

The three worst-hit provinces have been An Giang, Dong Thap and Long An, bordering Cambodia, where 54 people have died this month, local officials said. Five others have died in Can Tho province. Most of those killed have been children.

Relief officials worry that even when the immediate danger from the flood waters passes, it will be replaced by the threat of diseases like cholera and dengue.

The floods have turned vast areas of the Delta into desolate inland seas. Thousands have camped out for weeks on narrow dykes, using the flood waters for drinking, bathing and sewerage.

"The Vietnamese people are astoundingly resilient -- even with the water flowing all around them life continues," Mark Kelly of relief agency World Vision said from An Giang. "But many people are really in a difficult, difficult situation."

Kelly gave an example of a woman stranded on a dyke with five young children and just enough rice for the next two days.

"Then they have nothing. Her children are out trying to catch fish with a pole and a single piece of string," he said.

World Vision has been providing emergency rice and plans to supply fishing boats and nets to allow people to find food.

In recent days, the floods have spread to several districts of Can Tho, Kien Giang and Tien Giang provinces and still threaten downstream areas towards the coast. Meteorologists have warned that month-end high tides in the South China Sea could prevent flood waters draining out to sea from the Delta.

In Cambodia, where floods have claimed nearly 120 lives, officials said the worst was over and waters were receding. They were also receding in north and northeast Thailand, but thousands have been driven from their homes, and at least 29 killed.

In Cambodia, officials say the floods destroyed more than 100,000 hectares (247,000 acres) of crops. Wednesday's Vietnam Economic Times quoted Hanoi's Agriculture Ministry as saying they would cause a loss of 500,000 tonnes of unhusked rice.

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