Flash flood forces hundreds of tourists to flee Vietnamese resort

A flash flood hit a resort in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue on Friday, forcing holidaymakers to flee.

Flood water from upstream poured down into the Suoi Voi (Elephant Springs) Summer Resort in Loc Tien Commune at about 4 p.m., while around 1,000 people were still bathing there.

Hundreds of tourists panicked and fled to higher grounds as strong current washed away tents and stalls along the stream. Three people were also caught by the current, but the resort’s managers managed to rescue them in time.

While flooding occurs every year, Friday’s flood was unprecedented in volume and strength of the current, Thanh Nien newspaper quoted Nhat, a long-time shopkeeper in the resort, as saying.

Commune vice chairman Duong Quang Nghia said a weather station upstream had warned about the flood earlier, but many tourists decided to ignore it, according to Tuoi Tre newspaper.

However, Tran Anh Khoa, a tourist who was bathing at Voi Springs at the time of the flood, claimed that he had received no warning, Thanh Nien newspaper reported.

Voi Springs is a tourist attraction in southern Thua Thien-Hue, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) northwest of Da Nang. On average, it welcomes about 1,000 visitors a day.

The attraction however suffers from flooding every year and there have been cases of tourists drowning.