The districts of Lang Chánh and Bá Thước in Thanh Hóa Province have also been put on high alert of flash floods and landslides. — VNA/VNS Photo Trịnh Duy Hưng

HÀ NỘI — Typhoon Bebinca weakened to a tropical low-pressure system when it made landfall in Việt Nam on Friday, but heavy rains left severe consequences in the provinces of Sơn La, Thanh Hoá and Nghệ An.

At least seven have died or gone missing due to flooding as an impact of the storm, according to initial reports from the three affected provinces. Four of the victims were in the central province of Nghệ An whilst Sơn La reported one death and one missing.

Water levels in local rivers rose quickly causing inundation in Nghệ An’s Quỳ Hợp, Con Cuông, Tương Dương, Quế Phong and Kỳ Sơn districts, causing disruption to local residents.

The districts of Lang Chánh and Bá Thước in Thanh Hóa Province have also been put on high alert of flash floods and landslides.

“The inundation is more severe than in previous storms,” said Võ Sỹ Sơn, vice chairman of the People’s Committee of Quỳ Hợp District in Nghệ An Province.

According to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, Nghệ An Province received up to 280 millimetres of rain.

Flooding and landslides on a large scale occurred in Châu Lý, Châu Thành and Châu Hồng communes, isolating many villages in these areas. Particularly, spillways in Châu Lý Commune were all flooded, totally blocking off nearby villages.

“Some parts of the district have experienced the most serious flooding in the past 30 years,” said Nguyễn Đình Tùng, chairman of Quỳ Hợp District’s People’s Committee.

In Kỳ Sơn District’s Mỹ Lỹ Commune, 19 houses were reported to have flooded, four of which are totally immersed in water.

Due to rising water levels, hydropower plants in Nghệ An Province, including Nậm Mô Reservoir in Kỳ Sơn District, Châu Thắng Reservoir in Quỳ Châu District and Bản Vẽ Reservoir in Tương Dương District, started to discharge water on Thursday evening.

No reports of damage have been made.

Heavy rain yesterday also reportedly hit the northern provinces of Lạng Sơn, Hòa Bình and Yên Bái. The districts of Cao Lộc, Lộc Bình and Chi Lăng in Lạng Sơn Province, Văn Chấn, Trạm Tấu, Nghĩa Lộ and Mù Căng Chải in Yên Bái Province, and Đà Bắc, Mai Châu and Lạc Thủy in Hòa Bình all have a high risk of landslides and flash floods.

The forecasting centre has warned of more torrential rains in Nghệ An and Thanh Hóa over the next few days. — VNS