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Flash floods and landslides caused by heavy rain on the weekend in Vietnam's northern mountainous region had left seven people dead and 12 others missing, the country's Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Fight said on Monday, Xinhua reported.
The dead people consisted of five in Lai Chau province and two in Ha Giang province, and all the people listed as missing by Monday morning are in lai Chau, including nine in Sin Ho district.
The floods and landslides have swept away hundreds of houses and damaged some sections of national and provincial roads, causing serious traffic congestions in Lai Chau.
The natural disasters have caused property losses of some 76.6 billion Vietnamese dong (nearly 3.4 million U.S. dollars) in the four provinces of Lai Chau, Ha Giang, Lao Cai and Thai Nguyen, said the committee.
In the first five months of this year, natural disasters in Vietnam killed 13 local people, injured 21 others, destroyed or damaged nearly 11,000 houses, damaged 6,100 hectares of rice and other crops, and killed 8,200 cattle and 3,500 poultry, leaving property losses of over 544 billion Vietnamese dong (nearly 24 million U.S. dollars), according to the country's General Statistics Office.