Storm Dianmu makes landfall in North Vietnam

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.

VNS