HÀ NỘI — Storm Mirinae, which hit the northern provinces last night, destroyed hundreds of trees in Hà Nội, causing chaos for people travelling to work this morning.

It was the first storm batteting Việt Nam this year.

Trees reportedly fell on cars on Hai Bà Trưng, Bà Triệu, Trần Thánh Tông and Núi Trúc streets.

Many motorbikes skidded due to strong winds. Police officers have been asked to instruct people to walk with their motorbikes, instead of riding them, on Thăng Long, Nhật Tân and Vĩnh Tuy bridges.

Ten areas in the city have reportedly been flooded.

The National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting this morning issued flood warning of 0.2m to 0.4m in the inner city streets such as Phan Bội Châu - Lý Thường Kiệt, Giải Phóng, Phạm Văn Đồng and Phan Văn Trường, besides Trường Chinh, Giáp Bát, Minh Khai and Thái Hà, as well as Nguyễn Trãi, Hoàng Mai and Định Công.

The centre also said residents should not go out of their homes. Many schools have cancelled classes to ensure the safety of students. 

The strong winds caused the wall of a house to collapse in Hà Nội’s Phú Xuyên District, killing one person and injuring five, Việt Nam News Agency reported.

Many flight departures from Hà Nội have been delayed or cancelled due to bad weather.

The city’s People’s Committee has ordered district-level authorities, police and relevant agencies to ensure power supply and to conduct water drainage, while preparing for any unexpected situation that might be caused by the storm.

The eye of the storm last night hit the northern and north-central provinces extending from Thái Bình to Thanh Hóa, bringing heavy rain of 120mm to more than 200mm.

Directly hit by the storm, Hải Phòng City has prepared well and so far has not recorded any major losses.

As of 7am today, less rain and winds were reported. The city has dispatched more than 7,000 people and dozens of vehicles and has prepared 14,000 tonnes of food to deal with the storm’s aftermath.

In Thái Bình Province, electricity poles collapsed due to heavy rain and strong winds, causing blackouts in the districts of Tiền Hải and Thái Thụy.

Advertisement hoardings and metal panels were blown away. No official assessment of the damage has been announced so far.

According to the standing office of the Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control in Ninh Bình Province, no loss of human life has been reported in the province, but there has been heavy damage to property.

The whole province suffered from power cuts last night. Till 10am today, power had been restored only in Ninh Bình City. The roofs of thousands of houses have been blown away, while more than 34,000ha of newly planted rice have been flooded.

Seven boats sank while looking for shelters in Nam Định Province. One waterway police officer was injured while being on duty.

As of 10am today, the tropical storm had weakened into a tropical depression, bringing continuous and heavy rain in the affected areas.

In the next 12 hours, the storm will move west-northwest at about 10km per hour to 15km per hour and will become weaker as it approaches the mainland.

Thanh Hóa Province and other northern provinces have been warned about continuous heavy rain, flash floods, landslides and floods. — VNS