Red River flood in northern Vietnam surges 2.6m in 4 hours, residents evacuated

By 11:00 pm on Monday, the river was already 1.13 meters above alarm level 3, fueled by torrential rainfall and water discharge from the Dong Sung hydropower plant at 5,505 cubic meters per second.

Authorities warned that levels could peak 2-2.6 meters above alarm level 3 by early Tuesday morning, before gradually receding but remaining dangerously high.

In Van Yen and Tran Yen Communes, rising waters forced overnight evacuations, with police, militia, and rescue teams moving residents and belongings from low-lying areas.

Local schools were asked to be closed on Tuesday to ensure student safety.

The provincial steering committee for disaster prevention and control has urged strict monitoring of riverbank erosion, relocation of vulnerable households, and safety checks on river transport, aquaculture sites, and construction projects.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment ordered both Hoa Binh and Tuyen Quang hydropower plants to open an additional spillway at 3:00 am on Tuesday to manage rising inflows, after both had already released one spillway the night before.

The National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting warned of continued downpours in Lao Cai, Phu Tho, and Son La with rainfall up to 250mm throughout Tuesday, raising the risk of flash floods, landslides, and severe flooding across northern and north-central provinces from Lao Cai to Ha Tinh.

Storm Bualoi, the 10th to hit the East Vietnam Sea this year, made landfall in Ha Tinh Province, north-central Vietnam in the early hours of Monday.

Upon its landfall, Bualoi raged for up to 12 hours in the Nghe An-Quang Tri area.

Early on Monday afternoon, the storm had weakened into a tropical depression and later a low-pressure zone after moving into northern Laos, about 50km from the Vietnam-Laos border.

As of 7:00 pm the same day, the storm and associated whirlwinds, floods and landslides left at least 19 dead, 13 others missing, and 82 injured, according to a report released by the Department of Dyke Management and Natural Disaster Prevention and Control.