Heavy rain leads to high risk of landslides in many northern provinces. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI —Soil moisture models show that some areas in the northern provinces are nearly saturated and the risk of flash floods and landslides is extremely high.

According to the forecast by the National Centre for Hydrometeorological Forecasting in some areas the soil is either above 85 per cent saturated, or has reached levels of saturation that bring high risk of flash flood and landslides.

There is currently a disaster risk warning Level 2 for flash floods, landslides and subsidence due to rain, flooding or run offs in the northern areas.

The centre said that over 24 hours (from 8am on September 10 to 8am on September 11), the northern provinces and Thanh Hóa experienced moderate to heavy rain, with some areas receiving extremely heavy rainfall, including Hải Phòng City’s Cát Bà Island with 210mm, Hoà Bình Province’s Cao Sơn Commune - 110mm, Quảng Ninh Province’s Cẩm Phả District - 110mm, Hoà Bình Province’s Dân Hạ Commune - 109mm, Thái Nguyên Province’s Trung Hội Commune - 96mm, Ca Bằng Province’s Năm Làng Commune - 94mm, Phú Thọ Province’s Yên Lương Commune - 81mm, Bắc Giang Province’s Đan Hội Commune - 78mm, and Thanh Hoá Province’s Xuân Lộc Commune 97mm.

The soil moisture model shows that some areas in these provinces are nearly saturated, which is over 85 per cent or have reached saturation.

According to the forecast, in the next three to six hours, the northern provinces and Thanh Hóa will continue to experience rain, with common rainfall amounts ranging from 10-30mm, with some areas exceeding 70mm.

In the next six hours, there is a risk of flash floods along small rivers and streams, landslides on steep slopes in many districts.

According to the centre, flash floods and landslides could endanger human lives, cause localised traffic congestion, hinder the movement of vehicles, destroy residential and economic structures and damage production and socio-economic activities. VNS