HANOI,
Vietnam has seen the highest ever flood levels on three rivers in the country's north in over 40 years, official media said on Wednesday.
From late Tuesday to Wednesday, the Bang, Thuong, and Trung rivers reached high water marks that had not been recorded since 1986. The latter river, which borders China in Lang Son province, is expected to reach a height of about two meters (6.5 feet) above the record, according to Vietnamese state media.
According to a meteorological news broadcast, the Bang River's level in Cao Bang province peaked around 11:00 p.m. on Tuesday, "exceeding the historic flood of 1986 and is slowly receding."
In Bac Ninh province, flooding at one measuring point on the Thuong river “exceeded the historic flood of 1986 and continues to rise,” the bulletin said. At another point on the same river, the water level broke a 2008 record and was forecast to peak Wednesday night.
By Wednesday morning, Vietnam’s weather bureau said the level of the Cau river, running across Thai Nguyen city, was also more than a meter higher than the previous record level—when Typhoon Yagi devastated the country in September last year.
Tens of thousands of people were left stuck at home or fleeing floodwaters that reached the tops of cars and rooftops in areas of the city, about 80 kilometers north of the capital, Hanoi.
The record floods have submerged streets in several communities, with at least eight people killed this week, the government said.
