Death toll mounts in Vietnam floods

Death toll mounts in Vietnam floods

HANOI (AFP): Troops and police joined forces on Tuesday with
aid workers to rush 100 tons of supplies to stricken villagers in
central Vietnam as the death toll in the worst floods in 40 years
climbed to 535, officials said.

Aid agencies are growing increasingly concerned at the risk of
disease and hunger to the hundreds of thousands hit by the floods
which have washed away homes and fields.

The Red Cross has already registered cases of diarrhea and
other stomach ailments in the region, and authorities are trying
to take urgent sanitation measures to prevent any outbreak of
cholera and other diseases.

As the floodwaters recede, the army and police have been
mobilized to help distribute the aid with the help of dozens of
airplanes and military helicopters as well as hundreds of trucks.