100,000 students stay home as floods disrupt central Vietnam after storm Trami

By Vo Thanh October 27, 2024 | 11:52 pm PT

Approximately 100,000 students in Quang Binh and Quang Tri provinces were kept home on Monday as severe flooding caused by tropical storm Trami submerged schools and cut off access to multiple areas.

Duong Hoai Phuong, office chief of the Department of Education and Training in Quang Binh Province, stated Monday that all students in Le Thuy and Quang Ninh districts were instructed to stay home for safety reasons.

Le Thuy district is full of water. Photo by VnExpress/Nguyen Chien

Le Thuy District, Quang Binh Province is submerged in water on Oct. 28, 2024. Photo by VnExpress/Nguyen Chien

Many schools in flood-affected areas of Dong Hoi City and other districts also took proactive measures, allowing students to remain at home.

In Quang Tri Province, four high schools—Vinh Linh, Cua Tung, Ben Hai, and Dak Nong—along with three schools in Dong Ha City and all schools in Vinh Linh District, also suspended classes on Monday.

In total, around 100,000 students in the two provinces are not attending school.

Local authorities reported that several schools were submerged under one to two meters of water after three days of heavy rain brought by Trami, which made landfall in Thua Thien-Hue and Da Nang on Sunday morning with winds reaching up to 88 kph.

By Monday morning, nearly 15,000 homes in Le Thuy, Quang Ninh, and Dong Hoi City were flooded due to the continuous heavy rain and rapidly rising floodwaters from upstream.

Kien Giang Town Center, Le Thuy District. Photo by VnExpress/Gia Bao

Flooding in Kien Giang Town of Le Thuy District, Oct. 28, 2024. Photo by VnExpress/Gia Bao

Trami, the sixth storm to hit Vietnamese waters this year, has brought moderate to heavy rainfall over the past three days, with some areas recording torrential rain exceeding 500 mm.

The storm has claimed three lives and left one person missing in the central region.

According to the National Center for Hydrometeorological Forecasting, on Monday and Tuesday the storm’s circulation combined with cold air is expected to bring 150-250 mm of rainfall to the central region, with some places from southern Ha Tinh to Thua Thien Hue expected to receive over 400 mm.

Over the next 12-24 hours, water levels on the Kien Giang River in Quang Binh Province are predicted to recede slowly, prolonging flooding in the province.