Houses in Tan Hoa Commune (Minh Hoa District, Quang Binh) were submerged in water from 0.5 to 2 metres. - Photo thanhnien.vn
QUANG TRI, (Vietnam): Tropical Storm Soulik, or Typhoon No.4 has caused widespread flooding and landslides across several provinces in central Vietnam, leading to isolation in many areas.
Households have been submerged, with some locations requiring continued evacuation due to landslides along key roads.
As of late Friday (Sept 20), rain had eased off in Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, and Quang Tri. In Ha Tinh, some rural roads in the districts of Huong Khe and Vu Quang remained flooded. In Quang Binh, 1,150 households were still underwater, and 38 villages remained isolated.
Soulik has injured one person (in Thua Thien-Hue) and damaged 96 houses (63 in Ha Tinh, four in Quang Tri, 12 in Thua Thien-Hue, and 17 in Quang Nam). In terms of transportation, 16 roads and low-lying crossings were flooded, and more than 100 landslides occurred (86 in Quang Binh, eight in Quang Tri, one in Thua Thien-Hue, and seven in Quang Nam).
On Sept 20, the Quang Tri Province's Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Search and Rescue reported that over 1,000 households had to be evacuated due to the storm’s impact. Heavy rain triggered landslides, depositing more than 50 cubic metres of soil and rock onto National Highway 14 in Huong Lap Commune (Huong Hoa District), cutting off traffic. By the afternoon, roads leading to Huc, Huong Tan, and Huong Linh communes (Huong Hoa District) were only just reopened after being cleared of landslide debris. Many areas in Vinh Linh District were left without power due to damage to the electricity grid, with recovery efforts still ongoing.
In Quang Binh, heavy rainfall has continued, with river water levels expected to rise further. Local authorities have deployed teams to monitor the situation, set up warning signs, and prepare to assist residents once the floodwaters recede. Previous rains caused the upper reaches of the Gianh River to swell, inundating several residential areas. Rising river levels in the mountainous districts of Minh Hoa, Tuyen Hoa, Bo Trach, and Quang Ninh have also been reported. As of the afternoon of Sept 20, 37 villages with more than 600 households in Quang Binh were flooded, with Minh Hoa District being the most affected, as 538 households experienced flooding ranging from 0.5-2 metres deep. All affected households had been evacuated.
Currently, 44 road sections in Quang Binh have been cut off due to landslides, with Tuyen Hoa District being the worst hit. Several dams and bridges in the communes of Mai Hoa, Van Hoa, Thanh Thach, Lam Hoa, and Kim Hoa (Tuyen Hoa District) are experiencing water levels rising between 1 and 1.5 metres, making transportation impassable.
On the same day, two ships in Quang Binh encountered trouble while anchored to avoid the storm. At 10am, the fishing vessel QB-98043 TS broke its anchor and was capsized by the waves. Earlier, the cargo ship Nam Anh 69, while anchored at the Gianh River mouth, got entangled in oyster farming cages, causing it to drift two nautical miles offshore. Salvage operations were set to begin early this morning (Sept 21) when the tide rises.
Dangerous mountain crack discovered
In Quang Nam, on the morning of Sept 20, Nguyen Dang Chuong, Vice Chairman of the Nam Giang District People's Committee, personally inspected a large crack running along a mountainside behind Hamlet 56B, Dak Pre Commune. District leaders reported they would hold discussions on emergency measures and report to the Quang Nam Provincial People’s Committee for urgent solutions for affected households, including the possibility of establishing a new resettlement area. The crack, discovered on the afternoon of Sept 19 after more than two days of heavy rain, extends approximately 130 metres, with a depth of 1.5 to 5 metres and a width of 50 centimetres to 4 metres in some sections. There are signs of water seepage and landslides, posing a risk to houses below. Local authorities urgently evacuated 11 households with 41 residents living at the foot of the mountain to temporary shelters.
In Nam Tra My District, heavy rain caused dozens of houses to suffer cracked foundations, with rocks and soil flooding homes and creating numerous landslides. Tran Duy Dung, Chairman of the Nam Tra My District People’s Committee, reported that 51 households with 164 people had been evacuated. Additionally, over 30 tonnes of rice had been stockpiled in warehouses and schools in preparation for potential food shortages due to landslides cutting off access to the area.
In Dong Giang District, 12 households were also urgently evacuated from landslide-prone areas, and food and essential supplies were distributed to ensure enough provisions for 10 days.
Flood warnings in Ha Tinh
On the morning of Sept 20, in Ha Tinh, prolonged heavy rain flooded many roads and bridges in the districts of Cam Xuyen, Vu Quang, Huong Son, and Huong Khe, isolating several communities. Local authorities have placed warning signs and banned people and vehicles from entering flooded areas. Rising water levels have also increased the inflows to local reservoirs.
According to Ha Tinh’s Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Search and Rescue, from 5pm on Thursday (Sept 19), the Ho Ho Hydropower Plant (Huong Khe District, Ha Tinh) began releasing water at a rate of 78 cubic metres per second, which increased to nearly 600 cubic metres per second by late that night. By the afternoon of Sept 20, the discharge was reduced to 443 cubic metres per second. That same afternoon, the Huong Son Hydropower Plant (Huong Son District, Ha Tinh) discharged water at a rate of 15.4 to 92 cubic metres per second. Earlier in the day, the South Ha Tinh Irrigation Company also released water from the Kim Son and Thuong Song Tri reservoirs (Ky Anh Town, Ha Tinh) at a rate of 5 to 100 cubic metres per second.
With heavy rain forecast to continue, Ha Tinh authorities have relocated 49 households from low-lying and landslide-prone areas to safe shelters. According to the Ha Tinh Department of Education and Training, nearly 28,000 students across 34 schools, ranging from preschools to high schools, were unable to attend classes on Sept 20 due to deeply flooded roads and isolated villages. - Vietnam News/ANN
