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Storm Noru has continued to weaken hours after making landfall, carrying winds of 62-74 kph over Thua Thien Hue and Quang Ngai Provinces.
The storm is forecast to continue moving inland in the next hours and weaken into a tropical depression, then a low pressure zone over Thailand.
Da Nang and nearby provinces - Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai and Kon Tum would receive rainfall of 100-150 and more than 200 mm in some places on Wednesday.
Rainfall of 100-250 mm, and over 300 mm in some places, is forecast in the north central region on Wednesday and Thursday, while the Red River Delta, including Hanoi, and the northern coastal area should expect rainfall of 70-150 mm, and over 180 mm in some places over the two days.
The eye of the storm lies in Thua Thien-Hue, Da Nang, Quang Nam and Quang Ngai with wind speed of 117kph.
It is expected to move west at the speed of 20-25 kph and weakens into a depression within Wednesday.
Until now, no fatalities have been reported.
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An electric pole in Tam Ky Town of Quang Ngai Province was broken by the storm, September 28, 2022. Photo by VnExpress/Dac Thanh |
More than 40 families in Huong Giang Hamlet in Hue have been isolated due to flooding from high tides while in Hoi An Town, many streets have been submerged.
Thuan An Beach in Thua Thien Hue Province in the morning of September 28, 2022. Video by Vo Thanh
Deputy PM orders caution
Chairing a meeting with localities affected by Storm Noru on Wednesday morning, Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh said although the storm has weakened, people should not be careless. It has been shown in different cases that many people did not die in the storm but in flooding afterwards, he said.
He agreed with a proposal from the Meteorological and Hydrological Administration under the environment ministry that students should not be back to school yet.
He ordered that local authorities continue to monitor the situation of storms and floods and yet to allow fishermen to return to the sea.
Nguyen Van Huong, head of the weather forecast department under the National Hydro Meteorological Forecasting Center, said the entire center of the storm has entered the mainland between Da Nang and Quang Nam.
Within today, the area from Quang Tri to Quang Ngai and Kon Tum will have rain of 120-200mm and over 250mm in some places while provinces of Quang Binh, Binh Dinh and Gia Lai should expect rainfall of 50-100mm and more than 150 mm in some areas.After today, rain will gradually decrease in the above areas, he said.
However, due to the circulation of the storm in combination with a low trench formed in the storm, the rain area will expand to the provinces from Thanh Hoa to Quang Binh and raining will last until September 30.
The common rainfall in the north-central region from Sep.28 to 30 is 100-250 mm and over 300 mm in some places. In the coastal areas and the northern delta, which is home to Hanoi, rainfall in that period is forecast at 70-150 mm and over 180 mm in some places.
With such heavy rain, the possibility of landslides and flash floods is high.
"Experiences from recent storms show that when storms land, we are relatively safe, but when they have gone, there would be damages left behind due to landslides and flash floods, and therefore people need to pay attention," Huong said.
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Barriers are put up to alert a flooded part of a road in Kon Tum Province, September 28, 2022. Photo by VnExpress/Tran Hoa |
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Landslides have been recorded in many places in Tu Mo Rong District in Kon Tum Province in the Central Highlands. Photo by Tran Hoa |
Power cut
Power cut was recorded in many localities shortly after the storm arrived, affecting 555,000 families in Quang Ngai and Quang Nam provinces, Ly Son Islands off Quang Ngai, a part of Da Nang City and Thua Thien-Hue Province, several communes in the Central Highlands provinces of Gia Lai and Kon Tum.
At 5h30 Wednesday, Quang Nam recorded almost 4,000 substations had lost power.
"A few hours ago the wind howled horribly and I could not get any sleep," said Duy Hau, a resident of Hoi An Town's Cam Thanh Commune near the beach.
His whole family stayed awake to watch the storm's progress to "get ready should the sea level rises and all things are washed away." Hau's house is about one meter higher than the road, but at 3:30 a.m., the floodwater had risen to the edge of the terrace.
Heavy rains and strong wind early Wednesday in Hoi An Town of Quang Nam. Video by VnExpress/Duy Hau
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A satellite image of Storm Noru at 4 a.m., September 28, 2022. Photo by the NCHMF |
According to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, the storm continued to weaken as it made landfall. At 4 a.m., it carried maximum wind speed of 117 kph, with half of it having entered Da Nang and Quang Nam and the other half still at sea.
Between 4 a.m. and 7 a.m., the central region should receive rainfall of 50-100mm and over 150 mm in some places.
About 10 km away from the coast, the winds were tearing off the roofs of houses in Tam Ky City. The torrential rains made several areas inundated. At the My Thach Bac neighborhood in Quang Nam's Tan Thach Ward, the rising water level was about to invade people's homes. Many were forced to put their belongings to higher areas.
Nguyen Van Long, a local in Tam Tien Commune, who lives about 200 m away from the sea, said the winds were absolutely terrifying.
"The metal roofs, despite being fortified by sand bags, were still torn off by the winds. I would be blown away if I walk outside."
The winds rage on in Quang Nam, Sept. 28, 2022. Video by VnExpress/Dac Thanh
