Death toll from floods nears 1000

Nov 9, 2011
Source: Herald Sun

The death toll from severe flooding in SE Asia is nearing 1000. Picture: AP. Source: AP

The death toll from weeks of disastrous flooding in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam is climbing towards 1000, with the Vietnamese government saying on Wednesday that 100 people have now died there, AFP reported.

Meanwhile, in Thailand the government announced Wednesday the death toll has risen to 529, while Cambodia has suffered around 250 deaths.

Vietnam's latest victims - 17 adults and five children - were killed when floods triggered by torrential rain swamped four central provinces in recent days, the national flood and storm control committee told AFP.

The UN said on Monday that 65 children under the age of 16 were among those killed in the southern Mekong delta region of the country, most of them due to drowning.

As the floods battered parts of central Vietnam, newspapers ran pictures of inundated houses and streets in the town of Hoi An and the ancient city of Hue. Both are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

In Thailand, the Bangkok Post reported that 24 of the country's 77 provinces were still flooded on Wednesday - affecting about 2.8 million people from 1.1 million households.

The Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department told the newspaper that 529 people had died in the floods since late July and that others were still missing.

In Cambodia, at least 250 people have died in the unusually heavy monsoon rains that have caused devastation across the region. About one-third of the country has been underwater since August.