Nine dead, over 58,000 affected by floods in Laos
JAKARTA: Heavy rains from the Southwest Monsoon and Typhoon Wipha have left nine people dead and four missing in Laos as of July 31, according to the Asean Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance (AHA Centre).
To date, the disaster has impacted more than 58,000 people from 34,000 families across 10 provinces, the centre said in its weekly update.
The damage and losses caused by the devastating effects of the severe weather conditions amount to about US$13 million, according to the Laos National Disaster Management Office (NDMO), said the AHA Centre.
Acting as the secretariat of the National Committee for Disaster Management, the country's Social Welfare Department is leading a nationwide needs assessment in collaboration with the Inter-Agency Standing Committee to address urgent humanitarian needs and support recovery efforts.
Furthermore, in response to a formal request from NDMO, three members of the Asean Emergency Response and Assessment Team (Asean-ERAT) have been deployed to assist national authorities.
The members, experts in rapid assessment and information management, will provide their support to the affected areas for six days, until Aug 9.
Over the past week, data from the Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre showed that heavy rainfall occurred across Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines and Vietnam.
Tropical cyclones Bailu, Krosa and 14W, currently in the western Pacific Ocean, are forecast to head north-northwest, moving away from the Asean region, the AHA Centre added. - Bernama
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