CENTRAL REGION — The water level of rivers in Phú Yên and Khánh Hòa provinces and in provinces from Thừa Thiên Huế to Ninh Thuận, as well as the northern area of the Central Highlands, has been rising, according to the National Centre for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting.

At 7am on Wednesday, the water level of Trà Khúc and Vệ rivers in Quảng Ngãi, Kỳ Lộ River in Phú Yên, and ĐắkBla River in Kon Tum Province had almost risen to warning levels two and three.

Dinh River in Khánh Hòa Province in particular has reached 5.55m, which is 0.05m above the third warning level.

Kỳ Lộ River is predicted to see its water level rise to 9.6m, 0.1m higher than the third warning level. Dinh River’s water level will rise to 6m, which is 0.5m higher than the third warning level.

Provinces from Thừa Thiên-Huế to Bình Thuận face high risks of flash floods, landslides and floods in low-lying areas, according to the forecasting.

Heavy floods and landslides are forecasted to continue in rivers from Quảng Trị to Bình Thuận provinces and the Central Highlands area between November 3 and 8. The natural disaster risks are warned at level one and two.

The Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control has asked these provinces to follow and report rain and flood development to local authorities and people in order to develop plans to evacuate locals and property if necessary.

Continuous heavy rains over the past few days have isolated many areas in the central provinces of Phú Yên, Quảng Nam and Quảng Ngãi.

At 11am on Wednesday, Ba Hạ River’s hydropower plant started to release water at the discharge of 2,000 cubic metres per second. The water level of Ba Hạ River was rising quickly.

Trần Hữu Thế, vice chairman of Phú Yên Province’s People’s Committee, said that water flowing from Central Highlands provinces to the hydropower plant is still rising, so the water discharge of the plant will continue to rise on Wednesday evening. — VNS