Torrential Rains Cause Floods, Landslides, Damage in Northern Laos

Vientiane, Aug 12 (Prensa Latina) Torrential rains in northern Laos caused severe floods and landslides during the weekend, while authorities of the country are assessing the damages today.

The rains that accompany Tropical Storm Mangkut, the sixth of the season in Southeast Asia, affected for several days almost all the national territory, but with greater intensity and losses in the provinces Luang Prabang and Xayaboury.

Reports received in the capital account for various roads flooded because the drainage system was inadequate to evacuate the water while some farms lost their crops and several homes were damaged.

Every year Laos suffers floods and landslides from mountains in major rice growing areas in Borikhamxay, Khammuan Savannakhet.

The worst disaster occurred in 2011, when tropical storms Haima and Nock-Ten affected 229,000 people in nearly two thousand villages in 96 districts across 12 provinces, with the balance of 30 people dead.