Storm Dianmu makes landfall from Hải Phòng to Ninh Bình

Fishing vessels lying anchored at Bạch Long Vĩ Island in the northern port city of Hải Phòng to avoid the storm. – VNA/VNS Photo

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 Hải Phòng to Ninh Bình 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 Châu, Điện Biên, Sơn La and Lào Cai, besides Yên Bái, Hà Giang and Cao Bằng, and the mountainous areas of central Thanh Hóa, Nghệ An and Hà Tĩnh provinces at risk of floods, flash floods and landslides.

Hà Nội experienced heavy rains of about 70mm to 80mm yesterday evening, due to the storm. Some streets such as Phạm Văn Đồng, Trần Duy Hưng and Nguyễn Tuân were submerged up to 0.4m and traffic congestion was reported in many areas.

Domestic flights cancelled

National carrier Vietnam Airlines said it had cancelled 10 domestic flights as of August 19, as storm Dianmu approaches.

The cancellations hit flights between HCM City, the central Nha Trang and Đà Nẵng cities and the northern Hải Phòng city, and between HCM City and the north-central Thanh Hóa Province. On August 18, the carrier also cancelled two flights between Đà Nẵng and Pleiku in the central Gia Lai Province due to bad weather. The airlines said it would operate two extra flights on the Đà Nẵng-Pleiku route on August 19 and on the HCM City-Thanh Hóa route on August 20 to help passengers affected by the cancellations. The tropical storm is forecast to affect Nội Bài, Vinh and Điện Biên airports on August 19. Pleiku City is also expected to experience unfavourable weather conditions in the next few days.

More information relating to the storm will be released during the day.