Chilly weather upturns life in northern region

The bitter cold wave has extended for 12 more days in the northern region, resulting in students not attending schools, thousands of residents being rushed to hospitals, and hundreds of cattle dying from the frost and chill.

The bitter cold wave has extended for 12 more days in the northern region, resulting in students not attending schools, thousands of residents being rushed to hospitals, and hundreds of cattle dying from the frost and chill.

Several people have been hospitalized due to the cold in the northern and northern region (Photo: SGGP)
Several people have been hospitalized due to the cold in the northern and northern region (Photo: SGGP)

Several hospitals in provinces like Lao Cai, Lai Chau, Cao Bang and Lang Son and Hanoi City are crowded with patients, who have to now camp along corridors and stairways because there is no other space left.

Nguyen Quoc Anh, director of Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi, said that the number of people coming for health checks and treatment has surged to 3,500 a day. The hospitals are working overtime to cope with the huge numbers of patients.

Several schools sent nursery and primary students back to their homes after temperatures plunged below 10 degrees celsius, causing at least one of their parents to take leave to look after the children.

Along streets in Hanoi, tea sellers, vendors and motorbike drivers lit fires to keep them warm. Shops selling electric heaters, warm clothes, blankets and mattresses are crowded with customers until 10pm everyday.

Hundreds of livestock have been reported dead from the cold.

According to Lang Son Province authorities, extreme cold weather has caused hundreds of cattle to get sick and at least 34 have died so far, mainly old cattle or young calves.

Other provinces like Bac Kan, Cao Bang, Yen Bai, Lao Cai, Lai Chau and Dien Bien also recorded hundreds of dead cattle. Bac Kan lost 150 cattle and Cao Bang lost 85 in number.

The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in Lao Cai Province has guided residents in remote districts of Sa Pa, Muong Khuong and Bac Ha--where temperatures have plunged to 3-7 degrees celsius--to drive thousands of livestock to Bat Xat District and Lao Cai City to take shelter from the icy cold.

Ha Giang Province now has more than 260,000 cattle, which are all in danger of freezing to death.

Local authorities in Lao Cai, Ha Giang, Lang Son and Cao Bang Provinces have sent officials to villages to guide residents on how to take care of their vegetable crops, herds of livestock and poultry.

According to Bui Minh Tang, director of the National Hydro Meteorological Forecasting Center, the present cold spell will linger for the next 2-3 days in the northern region and also spread to the central region.

In another 6-7 days, another cold front will move in to prolong the cold wave. Within January, one or two stronger cold fronts are forecast in the region.

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