High waves rising waters sweep away houses on Vietnam coast
Pastor Dale Morgan
High waves rising waters sweep away houses on Vietnam coast*
HANOI, Jan 21 (AFP) Jan 21, 2008
High ocean tides battering Vietnam's southern coast have swept away or
damaged dozens of homes and led authorities to evacuate scores of
residents, local officials said Monday.
"Very high waves completely destroyed 18 houses and damaged 17 others,"
said Nguyen Thi Ngoc Suong, chairwoman of Phuoc Loc ward people's
committee in Binh Thuan province, after the houses collapsed into the
sea on Saturday.
"In total 174 people have been evacuated," she told AFP.
State media reported that hundreds more homes in the area were
threatened by the high sea swells.
Seasonal high tides hit Vietnam's South China Sea coast every year, but
residents in the region east of Ho Chi Minh City said they felt the
construction of a nearby port had altered water flows and made them worse.
"The situation has become more dangerous since December 2005 when
construction of the La Gi fishing port started," said Suong. "We are
looking at measures to solve this problem."
Climate experts warn that global warming will hit Vietnam worse than
most countries because its 3,200-kilometre (2,000-mile) coast and
low-lying Red and Mekong River deltas are vulnerable to storms, floods
and rising sea levels.