Heavy rains for a week, northern Vietnam told

A low-pressure area over northern Vietnam will trigger heavy rain from Friday night to Saturday, with mountainous regions seeing rainfall of 100 mm, according to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

From Saturday night to next Monday, the low-pressure area would move towards Hanoi and other areas in the plains, triggering heavy rain of up to 250 mm before subsiding.

The downpours can make rivers go into spate and trigger floods from Saturday night to next Tuesday, with waters rising by about 2-5 m upstream and 1.5-3 m downstream.

Heavy downpours will also visit Thanh Hoa and Nghe An provinces in north central Vietnam from Saturday to next Monday, with rainfall of up to 250 mm.

The center has warned of flooding and erosion risks in the northern mountainous regions.

Meanwhile, in the Central Highlands and southern Vietnam, it’s been raining for the past several days as the monsoon arrives. In the next three-five days, both regions would continue to see rainfall of up to 80 mm, mainly at dusk.

The National Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control requested localities Friday to check on residential areas near rivers, streams, ponds, dams and other areas vulnerable to floods and erosion and have evacuation plans ready for implementation at short notice.