The storm has since turned into a tropical low-pressure system. At 10am on Friday, the centre of the tropical low pressure was on the land of Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue provinces with speeds of 40-60 km per hour and is moving westward and looks set to weaken into a low-pressure system when it reaches Laos on Friday night.

During the storm, strong winds with speeds of  60-90 km per hour, sometimes up to 100-110 km per hour, were seen in Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue . North-central provinces were blanketed with heavy rainfall of 100-300mm.

Strong gusts coupled with heavy rain cause many big trees to be uprooted.

Heavy downpours have flooded many houses in mountainous areas of Quang Tri province.

In Thua Thien-Hue province, a falling tree killed a resident in Phong Thu Commune, Phong Dien District and 23 people were injured in separate incidents across the province, mostly due to falling trees.

More than 1,660 houses across the province had their roofs blown off, while trees fell down and electrical poles and electrical wires were damaged.

From 8.30am, people in Huế City could see and feel the strong winds of the storm, the fifth storm to enter the East Sea this year but the first that made landfall. Drivers on streets struggled to move in the strong winds that swept the city for about half an hour.

Due to prior warnings, many local people stayed sheltered, while many stores and restaurants were closed on Friday morning.

According to the province’s Natural Disasters Prevention and Control Committee, by 10pm on Thursday evening, all vessels in the province had reached safe haven. About 28,100 households of 106,600 people were evacuated from areas vulnerable to the storm.

In Quang Bình province, six people were reportedly injured when reinforcing their houses or due to falling down while chopping trees.

In Ha Tinh Province, winds blew off the roofs of 75 houses in Cuong Gian Commune, Nghi Xuan District.

In Da Nang City, it rained heavily from early morning but by 8am, it stopped raining.

Torrential rain from Thursday evening to Friday morning caused floods in many residential areas.

Many streets in Hoi An City of Quang Nam Province were also flooded. In addition, high tides surged on Thursday night, causing landslides along Cua Dai Beach and damaging hotels and restaurants along the coast.

According to the National Centre for Hydrometeorological Forecasting, heavy rain with rainfall of 100-200mm and in some places up to 250mm is expected in provinces from Ha Tinh to Quang Ngai on Friday.

This posed a high risk of floods and landslides in the provinces. South-central provinces and northern Central Highlands provinces will also have medium or heavy rain.

From Friday to Sunday, northern provinces and Thanh Hoa, a north-central province, will also experience rain.

Floods hit localities as storm Noul dissipates

Mountainous localities in central Vietnam are braced for flashfloods and landslides after tropical storm Noul bartered the region September 18, unleashing up to 300 of rain in many areas.

Heavy rain is pouring down in central provinces, especially mountainous communes, following the dissipation of powerful Noul.

The national weather authority reported Noul have dumped 200-300mm of rain on central provinces over the past 24 hours.

Rising floodwaters turned streets into rivers in most localities in the region. Heavy downpours also triggered flashfloods and landslides in mountainous areas in Quang Nam, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue provinces.

Meteorologists warned more flashfloods and landslides are expected in the coming days as post-storm rain continues to beat the region.

According to the National Steering Committee on Natural Disasters Prevention and Control, Noul has left one dead, one missing and 110 injured when it struck central Vietnam September 18.

The storm has blown off roofs of more than 22,000 houses and brought down many big trees as well as power lines in Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Thua Thien-Hue, Quang Nam and Da Nang. More than 3,000 residents have been isolated by rising floodwaters in Quang Binh province.

Relevant forces, including border guards, have been mobilized to evacuate people living in lowlying areas to a higher ground and provide daily necessities to those in the cut-off areas.

Storm Noul causes heavy losses in central localities

One person in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue died, another went missing in Quang Tri and 110 others were injured after storm Noul swept through the central region, reported the Office of the Central Steering Committee on Natural Disaster Prevention and Control.

The typhoon, the fifth arising in the East Sea so far this year, made its landfall on the mainland of Vietnam on the morning of September 18 and hit central localities, especially Da Nang, Thua Thien-Hue, Quang Binh, and Quang Tri before weakening into a tropical low pressure system.

It destroyed 10 houses and blew away the roofs of 22,562 houses. Torrential rain-induced flooding submerged 79 houses, 115 hectares of rice fields, 170 hectares of crops, while damaging 1,149 hectares of forest, 300 hectares of fruit farms, and 40 hectares of aquatic farms.

Alongside, 36 power poles collapsed, while three transformer stations were damaged and three telecommunications towers and 15 cable cab system were broken. Many localities in Thua-Thien Hue have suffered power cut. So far, the locality has fixed the damage to power system by 75 percent.

Meanwhile, serious erosion occurred along 6.2km in the coast of Thua Thien-Hue. Landslides blocked many roads in Quang Tri and Quang Nam.

Currently, affected localities are working hard to overcome the storm’s consequences.

The Office of the Central Steering Committee on Natural Disaster Prevention and Control has directed localities to support affected locals and keep a close watch on the water levels in rivers, so as to roll out timely responding measures.

The localities have been asked to evacuate people in areas with high risks of landslides, flashflood and flood to safer places, while staying ready to deal with problems occurring in reservoirs.

Localities deal with consequences of Storm Noul

Localities in the central province of Quang Tri are striving to deal with consequences of Storm Noul.

Hai Lang is the hardest hit by the storm in Quang Tri, with roofs of 594 temporary houses in the locality blown off and two injured during the natural disaster.

After the storm, local youths joined villagers to clean up roads and support affected families. Leaders of the district People’s Committee also visited families that have suffered from losses caused by the storm.

Authorities in Ta Rut in commune, the mountainous district of Dakrong, have mobilised forces to search for a 28-year-old woman who was swept away by flooding. However, the victim has yet to be found.

According to the provincial Steering Committee for Disaster Prevention, Search and Rescue, the storm has blown off roofs of 901 houses in Quang Tri, mostly in Hai Lang, Dakrong and Huong Hoa districts, caused landslides in the Ho Chi Minh Highway and destroyed 20ha of crops.

Meanwhile, the storm has caused power outages in some areas in Dong Hoi city, the central province of Quang Binh, and isolated some hamlets in the mountainous communes of Dan Hoa and Trong Hoa in Minh Hoa district.

The People’s Committee of Minh Hoa district has promptly allocated 10 tonnes of rice to Trong Hoa and Thuong Hoa communes to help the isolated residents.

Ongoing heavy rains would inundate low-lying areas and routes in mountainous localities in Quang Binh.

The provincial People’s Committee has instructed districts and border guards to evacuate residents in dangerous areas and ensure safety at essential sites.

Red Cross increases emergency stockpiles in response to Typhoon Noul

The Vietnam Red Cross Society (VNRC) has strengthened its preparedness for Typhoon Noul, which has struck central Vietnam, by increasing its stock of emergency supplies, the VNRC Central Committee said on September 18.

The stock includes 600 home repair tool kits, 480 water filters, 1,600 packs of family goods, and 30,000 water disinfectant tablets.

It has also earmarked 1.5 billion VND (65,000 USD) from its disaster relief emergency fund to support those affected.

The VNRC Central Committee had deployed volunteers before the typhoon hit to help evacuate people in high-risk areas to safer locations and reviewed its fund and emergency preparedness stockpiles. Local chapters have maintained a day-and-night watch on the situation to provide updates on damage and emergency needs.

It held an online meeting one day prior with central and provincial disaster response teams from seven central cities and provinces: Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua-Thien Hue, Da Nang, and Quang Nam, to share information on the typhoon, review resources, and assign tasks.

Typhoon Noul, the fifth to enter the East Sea this year, made landfall in Thua Thien-Hue province on the morning of September 18, causing heavy downpours, strong winds, and lightning.

Winds at speeds of 90-100 km/h swept through the local area in a 30-minute period starting at 8.30 am, bringing down dozens of old trees and electricity poles and blowing gates off several buildings and roofs off many houses.

The province’s mountainous Nam Dong district recorded the highest volume of rainfall, at 204 mm.

The typhoon also triggered a whirlwind Ha Tinh province at around 5 am, which blew the roofs of more than 60 houses.

Together with heavy rains, the whirlwind also affected a large area of crops.

Vietnam Airlines adjusts flights from/to Vinh airport due to storm Noul

National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines has announced that it would adjust schedules of flights from/to Vinh airport in the central province of Nghe An on September 18 as storm Noul hit the region earlier on the day.

Specifically, the airline will delay from two to six hours and a half the take-off and landing times of four flights coded VN7719, VN7718, VN7715 and VN7714 between Hanoi and Vinh, eight flights coded VN1262, VN1263, VN7264, VN7265, VN1260, VN1261, VN1264 and VN1265 between Ho Chi Minh City and Vinh, and two flights coded VN1691 and VN1690 between Vinh and Buon Ma Thuot in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak.

Earlier, the carrier cancelled 30 flights on September 18 and will operate 22 additional flights on the affected routes on September 19.

Pacific Airlines, an affiliate of the Vietnam Airlines Group, also postponed two flights coded BL6054 and BL6055 between Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang after 8:00pm on September 18.

Passengers are urged to keep updated with the airline’s official website and Facebook page, ticket offices or customers’ hotline.

Storm Noul, the fifth to enter the East Sea this year, made landfall in central Thua Thien-Hue province at around 8:30am on September 18.

VietNamNet/VOV/VNS/VNA

Storm Noul makes landfall in central Vietnam

Storm Noul, the fifth to enter the East Sea this year, made landfall in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue on September 18 morning, causing heavy downpours, strong winds and lightning.