Hanoi (VNA) – President Bounnhang Vorachit and Prime Minister ThonglounSisoulith of Laos have sent messages of sympathy to Vietnamese President TranDai Quang and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc over the huge losses in humansand property caused by typhoon Son Tinh in northern and central provinces.

On behalf of the Party, Government and people of Laos, the Lao leadersextended their sympathy and condolences to their Vietnamese counterparts aswell as the Party, Government and people of Vietnam, especially the localadministrations and families affected by the natural disaster.

The Lao leaders expressed their belief that under the close leadershipand care of the Party and Government of Vietnam, from the central to locallevels, the fraternal Vietnamese people will overcome difficulties and localresidents in the affected areas will stabilise their lives soon.

Typhoon Son Tinh, the third of its kind hit Vietnam this year, brought downpoursthat triggered flash floods and landslides in the northern mountainous andnorth central provinces.

Statistics provided by the affected provinces showed that by July 24,torrential rains, floods, and landslides left 29 people dead, five othersmissing, and 26 injured.

Of the dead, 15 were in the northern mountainous province of Yen Bai,six in the northern mountainous province of Son La, three in the northernmidland province of Phu Tho, three in the central province of Thanh Hoa, andthe others in the northern mountainous provinces of Lao Cai and Hoa Binh.

Meanwhile, two of the missing people were from Yen Bai, two from ThanhHoa, another from Phu Tho.

The natural disasters also destroyed and flooded 12,383 houses, killedand swept away 121,389 heads of livestock, and affected 6,208 ha ofaquaculture.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD)’sDepartment of Crop Production and the localities, many areas of rice and otherfood crops were still inundated, including 42,606 ha of rice in the Red RiverDelta region.-VNA