Storm Dianmu has made landfall from the northern Hai Phong port city to the northern Ninh Binh province this afternoon, the National Hydrometeorological Forecast Centre said.

Rain in Ha Long City, Quang Ninh Province.

The storm, the third of its kind to hit the country so far this year, is moving west at 15km to 20km per hour and was located off the provinces extending from Hai Phong to Ninh Binh at 10am on Friday, with a maximum wind speed of 100km per hour, the centre said.

The storm caused heavy rains in some localities and rough seas with large waves of up to 6m high. 

The centre of the storm was located 20.4 degrees north and 105.6 degrees east, hitting the northern localities with wind speeds of 75km per hour.

The meteorological centre said after hitting the mainland, the storm was expected to keep moving west at a speed of 15km to 20km per hour and then weaken into a tropical low pressure area in the next 12 to 24 hours.

The northern area received heavy rains of up to 200mm to 300mm and 400mm in some areas, while mountainous localities expected flash floods and landslides.

The forecast said the typhoon would become a tropical low pressure area after hitting the mainland.

Torrential rains began hitting the entire northern and north-central regions. It put the northern mountainous provinces of Lai Chau, Dien Bien, Son La and Lao Cai, besides Yen Bai, Ha Giang and Cao Bang, and the mountainous areas of central Thanh Hoa, Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces at risk of floods, flash floods and landslides. 

Hanoi experienced heavy rains of about 70mm to 80mm yesterday evening, due to the storm. Some streets such as Pham Van Dong, Tran Duy Hung and Nguyen Tuan were submerged up to 0.4m and traffic congestion was reported in many areas.

Government leaders inspect storm response

Government leaders scrutinised the preparations for storm Dianmu, the third of this year, in the northern and north central localities on August 19.

Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue toured Quang Ninh province to inspect the Ha Nam sea dyke – which is 36.7 km long and crucial to over 60,000 locals in eight island communes.

More than 400 officials and soldiers from special operation force, navy, and infantry forces were dispatched to reinforce some key parts of the dyke as well as direct hundreds of fishing boats on the Rut River to storm-resistant shelters.

The Deputy PM asked the forces involved to increase efforts to ensure safety for locals and mitigate material losses.

The province should make a proposal to the centrally-run ministries and sectors for about 200 billion VND (9 million USD) to build the remaining 12km part of Ha Nam dyke, he suggested.

According to the provincial Steering Committee on Natural Disaster Prevention and Search and Rescue, heavy rain was falling across eight out of the 14 districts in the locality, including six districts in the east and Cam Pha and Ha Long cities, on August 19 morning. The rainfall was measured at about 100 mm.

Soldiers, border guards, police, civil defence forces and young volunteers from Co To, Quan Lan and Van Don island districts stand ready around the clock to cope with the tropical storm.

The same day, Deputy PM Vu Duc Dam inspected the preparations for the storm in the north central province of Thanh Hoa .

He asked the locality to keep a close watch on the movements of the storm and promptly inform locals on the preventive measures being taken, particularly removing people in flash flood and landslide prone areas to safety and seriously enforing a ban on boats and ships from sailing.

Implementing the Prime Minister’s Notice No.1478/CD-TTg issued on August 18 to take proactive measures against the storm, the Ministry of National Defence has mobilised all necessary means of rescue, while border guards from Quang Ninh to Thanh Hoa have coordinated to direct ships and fishermen to safety.

The storm has already killed one man in Son La province.

According to the National Centre of Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, extensive rain has been raging through the northern and north central regions from August 18, and is expected to last until August 20, with rainfall for the period expected at 200-300 mm, and over 500 mm in some areas.

Serious flash floods and landslide are forecast for Lai Chau, Dien Bien, Son La, Hoa Binh, Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Phu Tho, Ha Giang, Tuyen Quang, Thai Nguyen, Bac Kan, Cao Bang, Lang Son, Quang Ninh and mountainous areas in Thanh Hoa, Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces.

Inundation is also likely to occur in the northern delta and northern central low-land areas.

VNS/VNA