151 dead or missing in Vietnam floods

Deadly floods and landslides from a tropical storm that pounded Vietnam over the weekend have claimed at least 101 lives and left 50 others missing, officials said Monday.

The death toll will likely rise as rescue workers gain access to areas cut off by the storm, which battered nine northern provinces, said disaster official Thao A Tua of Lao Cai province, where 37 people died.

“This is the deadliest natural disaster to hit Lao Cai in 20 years,” Tua said. “It killed so many people.”

Two more bodies were recovered Sunday in neighboring Yen Bai province, bringing the death toll there to 35, said official Tran Anh Van.

Yen Bai officials have mobilized thousands of rescue workers to search for survivors and bring food to hard-hit areas.

“Many villagers are still stranded on their rooftops,” Van said. “People have lost everything.”

Tropical storm Kammuri killed people in at least seven other provinces, including nine in Ha Giang and eight in Quang Ninh.

Several hundred train passengers en route to the popular tourist destination of Sapa were stranded by the storm, which flooded sections of track between Hanoi and Lao Cai, said Le Minh Tuan of the Vietnam Railway Corp.

The passengers, including about 50 foreign tourists, took refuge in nearby hotels.

Officials hoped to reopen the rail line within a few days, Tuan said.

Rampaging waters have knocked down trees and electricity pylons and left thousands of people homeless.

Vietnam is prone to floods and storms that kill hundreds of people each year.