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.