Search and rescue forces at the spot where a landslide buried a police station in Lam Dong Province on Sunday.
© VnExpress/Hoai ThanhSearch and rescue forces at the spot where a landslide buried a police station in Lam Dong Province on Sunday.
Five people were killed and two others are missing in floods and landslides caused by prolonged heavy rains in the south and the Central Highlands during the weekend.

The southwest monsoon has been more intense than normal, resulting in torrential rains and strong winds in Lam Dong, Binh Thuan, Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Bac Lieu, Ca Mau, An Giang, Hau Giang, and Kien Giang provinces in the last three days, with many places reporting record rainfall.

The rains triggered a landslide at around 2:30 p.m. Sunday in the Bao Loc Pass near Da Lat in Lam Dong Province in the Central Highlands, burying a traffic police station.

Three officers have been confirmed dead and one civilian was trapped in the debris as of Monday morning.



In nearby Binh Thuan Province too heavy rains caused landslides that paralyzed traffic in many places.

Soil and rocks blocked the road linking Binh Thuan and Lam Dong on Sunday.

Water also blocked a section of the Dau Giay - Phan Thiet Expressway in Binh Thuan early Saturday, leaving vehicles stranded for five hours.


Also on Saturday strong waves and winds capsized a fishing vessel off Binh Thuan causing four fishermen to fall overboard. Three of them were saved and but a 41-year-old man has not been found.

On the same day in Binh Thuan, a 47-year-old woman was swept away by floodwaters and found dead later.

In Bac Lieu Province in the Mekong Delta, heavy rains and strong winds caused the house of Dang Van Dung, 37, to collapse killing his wife, Dang Kim Men, 36, and injuring him and his eight-year-old son.

The province's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said non-stop rains on Saturday and Sunday caused flooding in many places, destroyed 59 houses and the roofs of 52 others.

Hong Dan District received 162 mm of rain over the two days, the highest level ever.
In Ca Mau, 170 houses were damaged while in Ba Ria - Vung Tau, 40 houses lost their roofs.

On Sunday several areas in An Giang and Kien Giang provinces were under a meter of water.

In Rach Gia City in Kien Giang, people had to use boats to move around.

A man rows a boat carrying three other people in
© VnExpress/Duong DongA man rows a boat carrying three other people in Rach Gia City in Kien Giang Province on July 29, 2023.
According to the National Center for Hydro - Meteorological Forecasting, southern localities received rainfall of 90-160 mm on average over the weekend.

Soc Trang and Kien Giang received more than 210 mm.

The center said the southern and Central Highlands regions should expect more heavy rains this week.

Le Dinh Quyet, an official at the Hydrometeorological Observatory's southern office, said Storm Doksuri has made the southwest monsoon stronger than normal, resulting in unusually heavy rains.