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SINGAPORE: Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan has extended her condolences to those affected by the floods and landslides in central Vietnam, adding that Singapore was ready to support the country.
Dr. Balakrishnan said he was “very saddened by the tragic loss of life and devastation caused by the floods and landslides in central Vietnam” in a letter on Thursday (October 22) addressed to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Relations of Vietnam, Pham Binh Minh.
“Please accept my deepest condolences to the families of the victims and to all those whose lives and livelihoods have been affected,” he said in the letter.
“Singapore is ready to support Vietnam in any way we can.”
READ: Tropical Storm Saudel threatens Vietnam after drenching the Philippines
READ: 11 soldiers killed, 11 missing in Vietnam after second major landslide in days
As of Wednesday, more than 100 people had died and another 20 were missing in central Vietnam after weeks of severe flooding and landslides.
Among the dead are 22 soldiers who were involved in a large landslide Sunday in Quang Tri province, and 13 members of a rescue team who had tried to save workers at a hydroelectric plant.
Some 178,000 homes have been submerged by the floods, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and rescuers have made a desperate attempt to bring food and clean water to the isolated people.
Roads, infrastructure and crops in the central region had also been devastated by flooding, the charity added, warning that hundreds of thousands of people would need housing and income support in the coming weeks.
More rain is forecast to hit the area over the weekend when Storm Saudel blows from the South China Sea.
