Typhoon Mirinae, the first to hit Vietnam this year, has caused human and property damage in the north of the country after it rolled into the mainland from the midnight of Wednesday.

A fallen tree on Ly Thuong Kiet Street in Hanoi.

In Hanoi, trees reportedly fell on cars on Hai Ba Trung, Ba Trieu, Tran Thanh Tong and Nui Truc streets.

Many motorbikes skidded due to strong winds. Police officers have been asked to instruct people to walk with their motorbikes, instead of riding them, on Thang Long, Nhat Tan and Vinh Tuy bridges.

Ten areas in the city have reportedly been flooded.

The National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting yesterday morning issued flood warning of 0.2m to 0.4m in the inner city streets such as Phan Boi Chau - Ly Thuong Kiet, Giai Phong, Pham Van Dong and Phan Van Truong, besides Truong Chinh, Giap Bat, Minh Khai and Thai Ha, as well as Nguyen Trai, Hoang Mai and Dinh Cong.

The centre also said residents should not go out of their homes. Many schools have cancelled classes to ensure the safety of students.

The strong winds caused the wall of a house to collapse in Hanoi’s Phu Xuyen District, killing one person and injuring five, Vietnam News Agency reported.

Many flight departures from Hanoi have been delayed or cancelled due to bad weather.

The city’s People’s Committee has ordered district-level authorities, police and relevant agencies to ensure power supply and to conduct water drainage, while preparing for any unexpected situation that might be caused by the storm.

The eye of the storm last night hit the northern and north-central provinces extending from Thai Binh to Thanh Hoa, bringing heavy rain of 120mm to more than 200mm.

Directly hit by the storm, Hải Phòng City has prepared well and so far has not recorded any major losses.

As of 7am yesterday, less rain and winds were reported. The city has dispatched more than 7,000 people and dozens of vehicles and has prepared 14,000 tonnes of food to deal with the storm’s aftermath.

In Thai Binh Province, electricity poles collapsed due to heavy rain and strong winds, causing blackouts in the districts of Tien Hai and Thai Thuy.

Torrential rains inundated 39,300ha of rice and destroyed 1,900ha of other crop in the province.

According to the standing office of the Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control in Ninh Binh Province, no loss of human life has been reported in the province, but there has been heavy damage to property.

The whole province had suffered from power cuts since Wednesday’s night. Till 10am yesterday, power had been restored only in Ninh Binh City. Roofs of thousands of houses have been blown away, while more than 34,000ha of newly planted rice have been flooded.

Seven boats sank while looking for shelters in Nam Dinh Province. One waterway police officer was injured while being on duty. About 74,100ha of rice in the province was flooded.

Hundreds of trees fell down in Hung Yen Province, where widespread power outages last for 12 hours from 10 pm of Wednesday. Around 800ha of rice in Tien Lu District were deep under water, and nearly 800ha of longan trees in Hung Yen city were damaged. Strong winds also blew away roofs and advertising banners there.

In Ha Nam province, by 9 am yesterday, the tropical storm flooded almost 28,500ha of rice and 3,000ha of other crops, knocked down over 9,100 trees and unroofed some 1,000 houses, the local disaster prevention agency said.

Three residents in Thai Nguyen Province and another one in Hoa Binh Province were injured during the storm, which triggered blackouts in Hoa Binh and Hai Duong provinces. It also wreaked havoc on crops, livestock and houses in these localities.

Some 160 houses were unroofed in Lao Cai Province, with some kindergartens collapsing due to falling trees. In Bac Giang Province, serious landslides containing some 200cu.m of soil occurred, and more than 1,400ha of crops were flooded.

In Yen Bai Province, a 14-year-old child drowned in floods and 17 houses were unroofed.

As of 10am yesterday, the tropical storm had weakened into a tropical depression, bringing continuous and heavy rain in the affected areas.

The storm is forecasted to move west-northwest at about 10km per hour to 15km per hour and will become weaker as it approaches the mainland.

Thanh Hoa Province and other northern provinces have been warned about continuous heavy rain, flash floods, landslides and floods.

VNS