HÀ NỘI — Central provinces from Quảng Bình to Phú Yên, as well as the northern part of the Central Highlands will experience strong rainfall, which will subside starting from December 6.

This is due to the intensified cold front from the north in combination with wind turbulence at a high altitude.

According to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, the prolonged rain will worsen the already near-peak floods in rivers throughout the central region. Flash floods and landslides, as a result, can be expected in the mountainous areas such as Ba Tơ, Minh Long, Sơn Tây, and Tây Trà communes of Quảng Ngãi Province; An Lão, Hoài Ân of Bình Định Province; Chư Sê, Đak Pơ, Ia Pa, Chư Pưh, Krông Pa, and Phú Thiện of Gia Lai Province.

Flat lands from Quảng Ngãi to Phú Yên provinces continue to be inundated, especially in Hoài Ân, Hoài Nhơn, An Nhơn township and Quy Nhơn City of Bình Định Province; Phú Hoà, Tuy An, and Tuy Hoà City of Phú Yên Province.

Currently, important reservoirs in the Central region and the Central Highlands are filled to the brim, while the heavy rain shows no signs of letting up, raising safety concerns in the region.

In Phú Yên Province, Sông Hinh River Hydropower Plant is discharging 4,654cu.m of water per second, while Ba River Hydropower Plant, in one hour (from 6:45am to 7:45am) has increased flood discharge by 900cu.m per second and is releasing water at the rate of 4,100cu.m per second.

Châu Văn Dũng, a 57-year-old resident from mountainous Đồng Xuân Commune of Phú Yên, meanwhile, went missing while crossing the flooded stream late night on December 3. Authorities have deployed search and rescue forces to find him.

Due to the impacts of the cold spell, weather over the northern seas – Gulf of Tonkin and northern part of the East Sea (South China Sea) – continues to be unfavourable, and winds up to gale 7 (50-60km/h) and waves as high as 2-4m can be expected.

The southern region may experience scattered thunderstorms with high humidity, keeping the temperature at a moderately hot level of a maximum 32 degrees Celsius.

Due to the rising tides, water levels of Mekong River and Sài Gòn River are continuing to increase, threatening waterlogging in low-lying and riverside areas in HCM City, Cần Thơ City and Vĩnh Long City. — VNS