Hanoi asks Beijing to regulate river water flow as floods batter Vietnam

By Tayyaba Nisar Khan

ISTANBUL (AA) - Vietnam has asked China to regulate the flow of river water as severe weather conditions that brought rains and floods batter the Southeast Asian nation.

Hanoi has sent a diplomatic note to Beijing over the flow of water in the Red River, daily Vietnam News reported on Tuesday.

The river is known as Hong River in China and Song Cai in Vietnam.

Hanoi has urged Beijing not to release water from two of its hydropower plants upstream on the river as Typhoon Yagi brought heavy rains and floods, killing at least 127 people in Vietnam. Fifty-four others are also missing.

Vietnamese officials have held discussions with Chinese counterparts seeking mitigation and “support in implementing measures to reduce the risk of flooding in the Red River basin.

Typhoon Yagi is the strongest typhoon in the past 30 years.

Authorities in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi raised the alert level amid fears of disaster risk.

Mostly northern parts have been badly affected as floods caused breaches and damaged bridges as well as roads.

To help the affected people, the Vietnamese government deployed thousands of military personnel to carry out relief and rescue operations in the affected areas.

More than 50,000 people from coastal cities have been evacuated due to the typhoon.

Typhoon Yagi, which struck the northern regions of the Philippines on Sept. 3, caused severe rain, flooding, and landslides.

The typhoon, which hit China’s Hainan province on Sept. 7, led to the deaths of four people and injuries to 95 others.