Flash flood kills 4, leaves 4 others missing in Vietnam

This photo taken and released by Vietnam News Agency (VNA) on July 17, 2026, shows rescue workers addressing the aftermath of flash floods in Muong Than Commune, Lai Chau Province, northern Vietnam. | Photo Credit: AFP At least four people were killed and four ​others were missing after a ‌flash flood swept through a mountainous ​village in Vietnam’s northern ⁠province of Lai Chau, state media reported on Saturday (July 18, 2026).The flood in Muong Than ‌village early on Friday (July 17) after days of heavy rains ‌in several parts of northern ‌Vietnam ⁠also injured seven people, reported ⁠the Vietnam News Agency.Vietnam is prone to deadly storms and floods during the rainy ​season that ‌peaks from July through September. Natural disasters, mostly floods, killed 489 people in the country last year, ‌according to government data.The Vietnam ​News Agency report had photos showing red mud and ⁠flood water blanketing the village, with rocks and wood logs piling in ‌a corner of a damaged road.Since Wednesday (July 15), landslides and flash floods triggered by heavy rain have also damaged roads, power grids and hundreds of houses, as ‌well as inundating 238 hectares of ​crops in the region, according to the government’s disaster management agency.Several ⁠parts of northern Vietnam are forecast ⁠to receive heavy rain of up to 250 millimetres on ‌Saturday (July 18), the agency said, warning of more flash floods and ​landslides. Published - July 18, 2026 12:48 pm IST