HANOI, May 19 — A landslide following flash floods in a mountainous area of northern Vietnam has killed four people, the government said today, as forecasters warned of further downpours.

The landslide occurred early yesterday in Ba Be district of Bac Kan province following torrential rain on Saturday.

“A very big (noise, like an) explosion was heard from the top of the mountain. Then soil, rock and water poured down from the mountain,” a statement on the government’s website quoted local official Tieu Xuan Tai as saying.

Tai said local residents had been aware of a two-metre-wide crack on the top of the mountain that appeared several years ago.

Provincial authorities have issued warnings to the public, and called for immediate safety checks for communities along streams, rivers and other areas vulnerable to landslides.

Residents must be immediately evacuated if they are at risk, authorities said.

Forecasters said rain in the area had been higher than normal so far this month and further heavy downpours were expected in northern and central areas.

Vietnam is prone to tropical storms, which often cause deadly flash floods and landslides, but they usually hit the country between June and November.

Experts say human-driven climate change is causing more intense weather patterns that can make destructive floods more likely.

Last year, 514 people died in Vietnam due to natural disasters, three times more than in 2023, the agriculture ministry said.

In September, northern Vietnam was devastated by Typhoon Yagi, which claimed 345 lives and caused an estimated economic loss of $3.3 billion. — AFP

JAKARTA (Bernama): One person was killed while 19 others were reported missing after severe flooding swept through a remote gold mining area in Indonesia’s West Papua province, officials said on Monday.

Four others were reportedly injured after floodwaters swept through a temporary miners’ settlement in Jim village, located in the Catubouw district of Arfak Mountains regency, on Friday evening.

"Floodwaters from the upstream area swept through a temporary settlement used by traditional gold miners at around 9pm, destroying tents and washing away equipment,” he said in a statement on Monday.

A joint search and rescue team was deployed to the affected area, but efforts were hindered by poor communication networks and harsh terrain, he said.

"The search for the 19 missing victims is being carried out intensively by the joint team on the ground,” Abdul Muhari added.

Flash floods and landslides are frequent in eastern Indonesia during the rainy season, particularly in mountainous regions such as West Papua. - Bernama

China’s national meteorological centre issued multiple heavy rain warnings in the Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangxi and Guangdong regions and the northwestern province of Xinjiang from yesterday to today, the official Xinhua news agency said.

It said a yellow alert was issued in parts of Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi, indicating a relatively high risk of mountain flooding.

At least 10 railway lines connecting the southern city of Shenzhen with other cities halted operations today due to heavy rainfall, according to Shenzhen railway authorities.

More than 620,000 households in Guangxi lost power in recent days due to rain, state media reported.

China has a four-tier weather warning system with red representing the most severe warning, followed by orange, yellow and blue.

Chinese meteorological data show 2024 was the warmest year for the country since comparable records began over six decades ago, the second straight year in which milestones were broken.

Last year’s warmer weather was accompanied by stronger storms and higher rainfall and led to spikes in power consumption in China, the world’s second-largest economy.

NEW YORK, May 19 (Xinhua) -- A severe storm system was expected to bring strong winds and large hail, possibly the size of baseballs, to parts of the Midwest of the United States through Monday night, a day after tornadoes downed power lines and trees and damaged buildings across the Great Plains.

Forecasters warned of potential for "all severe hazards," including tornadoes, especially in the central and southern Plains. The National Weather Service in Wichita, Kansas, warned that severe thunderstorms were likely on Monday afternoon and evening, primarily along and east of Interstate 135.

Midwest Energy Inc., an energy provider in Kansas, was quoted by The New York Times as saying early Monday that crews were working to restore power after a tornado caused damaged in the city of Plevna.

On Sunday, more than 20 tornadoes were reported across Colorado, Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma and Nebraska, according to the National Weather Service. The outbreak of severe weather comes just days after tornadoes killed at least 25 people in Missouri and Kentucky alone.