Vietnam released water from seven dangerously full reservoirs on Tuesday, just days before a summit of Asia-Pacific leaders and after a typhoon killed nearly 70 people, Reuters reports.
The Steering Committee for Disaster Prevention said authorities were trying to avoid further flooding, particularly around the city of Danang, where the meeting of Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders is being held.
Typhoon Damrey, which struck on Saturday, was the 12th major storm of the year. The disaster prevention committee said 69 people had died as a result of the storm while 30 people were missing.
As much as 1,700 mm (67 inches) of rain was recorded at one weather station in the week to Monday.
Particular efforts were being made to avoid flooding around Danang because of the APEC meetings which began on Monday, it said.
U.S. President Donald Trump, China’s Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin are among leaders set to join the main summit on Friday and Saturday.
The meeting schedule has not been disrupted by the rain, but there is a question mark over whether leaders’ spouses will be able to make a planned excursion to the UNESCO heritage town of Hoi An on Saturday.
Floods killed more than 80 people in northern Vietnam last month, while a typhoon wreaked havoc in central provinces in September. The country of more than 90 million people is prone to destructive storms and flooding due to its long coastline.