Northern Vietnam braces for downpours, landslides and flash floods warned

By Xuan Hoa   August 3, 2018 | 04:24 am PT
Yet again, northern highland and midland provinces in Vietnam have been warned of potential flash floods and landslides.
A man collects belongings from his house which partly collapsed due to erosion by the Da River in Hoa Binh Province on Tuesday. The province has been warned to brace for landslides and flash floods triggered by downpours this weekend. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Thanh

A man collects belongings from his house which partly collapsed due to erosion by the Da River in Hoa Binh Province on Tuesday. The province has been warned to brace for landslides and flash floods triggered by downpours this weekend. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Thanh

A strengthening tropical depression is set to release moderate rains of 16-50 millimeters over northern Vietnam, starting Friday night, local reports say.

Heavier rain (51-100 millimeters per day) is expected in the midlands and highlands regions. The rainfall is forecast to persist until Sunday, August 5.

Currently, water upstream the Lo River in Ha Giang Province has reached flood warning level and is expected to rise in the next 12 hours as Chinese reservoirs open their sluice gates.

From August 4 to 6, heavy rain is anticipated to trigger floods in the upper reaches of the Da and Thao rivers. There is high risk of landslides and flash floods in northern mountainous provinces like Bac Kan, Ha Giang, Lai Chau, Lao Cai, Phu Tho, Son La, Tuyen Quang and Yen Bai.

Hoa Binh Province, where dozens of families have been evacuated this week after five houses collapsed into the Da River due to erosion, will be in the risky zone, according to weather forecasts.

Meanwhile, in central Vietnam, the area from Nghe An to Phu Yen provinces has been affected by weak Foehn winds, and the areas can expect weekend temperatures of 35-37 degrees Celsius (95-99 degrees Fahrenheit).

In southern Vietnam and the Central Highlands, the active southwest monsoon wind can deliver sunshine this weekend with temperatures of 29-33 degrees Celsius.

In the capital city, flood waters delivered by the Bui River are withdrawing slowly.

The water level in the outskirts Chuong My District has receded by 15 centimeters compared to Thursday morning. Water levels in the Day and Hoang Long rivers have also subsided, allowing water levels in the Bui River to recede by 10-20 centimeters per day. Nearby wards are still inundated by flood waters from these rivers.

Since July 13, northern Vietnam has experienced continual heavy downpours due to the influence of a tropical convergence zone, followed by tropical depression.

Mountainous provinces like Yen Bai, Son La and Lao Cai have suffered severely from flash floods and landslides. Several urban areas in Quang Ninh and Thanh Hoa provinces as well as the capital city are still deep in water. Nearly 40 people have been killed in the latest flooding, mostly in Yen Bai, Son La and Thanh Hoa. The number includes three children who drowned in Hanoi’s Chuong My District.

Natural disasters including floods and tropical storms killed more than 390 people across the country last year and caused damage worth nearly VND52.2 trillion ($2.34 billion), according to official figures.

 
 
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