Heavy rain in central Vietnam expected to ease from today

Forecasters said heavy rain would continue through Thursday morning as a strong cold front combines with upper-level easterly disturbances.

Rainfall totals are expected to reach 50-120 mm in Hue, Da Nang, and eastern Quang Ngai, with isolated areas exceeding 200 mm.

Eastern Gia Lai, Dak Lak, and Khanh Hoa will possibly receive 30-70 mm of rain, with localized totals surpassing 120 mm.

By Friday, most areas will see only scattered showers and thunderstorms.

Meanwhile, northern Vietnam is forecast to experience scattered showers beginning late Wednesday, initially in the northwest before expanding across the region on Thursday. 

Northeastern provinces are predicted to see most of the rain on Friday.

Cold conditions in northern Vietnam may persist until Friday morning.

Warmer weather is expected afterward, with Hanoi forecast to see daytime temperatures of 27-30 degrees Celsius and nighttime temperatures of 20-23 degrees Celsius from around Saturday onward.

Another cold front could reach northern Vietnam around November 18-19, although forecasters expect it to be weaker than the current one.

The cold spell that began last Sunday has been described as one of the strongest in the past decade.

Combined with moist easterly winds, it brought widespread rainfall to central Vietnam, with some locations recording more than 800 mm of rain, including the Bach Ma area in Hue.

The severe weather caused rivers to rise above warning levels, flooding low-lying communities in Thanh Hoa and Quang Ngai Provinces.

According to the Vietnam Disaster and Dyke Management Authority, heavy downpours injured two people, damaged or unroofed 38 houses, flooded 126 hectares of crops, and killed nearly 10,000 poultry.

Inundation and landslides disrupted traffic along multiple roads in Thanh Hoa, Ha Tinh, Quang Tri, Hue, Da Nang, and Quang Ngai.

Strong winds of 29-49 kph, with gusts reaching 50-74 kph, also affected coastal areas.

In Da Nang alone, authorities reported 421 trees and one power pole toppled.

Rough seas forced two cargo ships aground near Sa Huynh in Quang Ngai and Lang Co in Hue.