Heavy rains and thunderstorms are in the forecast over North Central Coast and Mid-central region, including Da Nang, from May 15 to 16, according to Viet Nam’s National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

Showers with a chance of thunderstorms are forecast for Northern Viet Nam on Wednesday with moderate to heavy rain likely in some places. Thunderstorms can produce tornadoes, lightning, hail and strong winds.

Forecasters have also issued warnings of flash floods and landslides for mountainous areas in the Northern region, and localized flooding alerts are in place in low-lying and riverside areas.

On Wednesday, cloudy skies are expected in the parts from Thanh Hoa to Thua Thien-Hue while showers are predicted during the late afternoon and night hours with thunderstorms likely in some places.  Maximum temperatures in these areas are expected to hover around 32-35 degrees Celsius, even above 35 degrees Celsius in some places while minimum temperature will be in the range of 25-28 degrees Celsius.

Sunshine is forecast for the parts from Da Nang to Binh Thuan on Wednesday with the chance of showers and thunderstorms during late afternoon and night hours in some places. Southeast winds levels 2 to 3 may reach these areas. Temperatures in these areas can expect lows of 24 to 27 degrees Celsius and highs of 31 to 34 degrees Celsius,even above 35 degrees Celsius in some places.

Today expects the sky to remain mostly cloudy over Central Highlands, and there is a chance of showers and thunderstorms during late afternoon and night hours in some places. Maximum and minimum temperatures will hover around 30-33 degrees Celsius and 20-23 degrees Celsius.

There are also warnings of thunderstorms, lightning strikes, high winds, tornadoes and hail in these areas.

Viet Nam’s National Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control is urging the warning areas, including Da Nang, to take proactive and necessary mitigation measures in response to high winds, tornadoes and hail plus heavy rain which could trigger flash floods and landslides in mountainous areas and flooding in low-lying and riverside areas in the coming days.

Focus must be on keeping a close watch on severe weather development, and keep local residents timely informed about extreme weather conditions in a bid to keep them safe and protect their properties. In addition, the heed must be paid to help local residents get ready for such weather conditions in an attempt to reduce the risk of possible damages. Special attention must be given to keeping owners of vessels operating at sea timely informed about extreme weather conditions in order to help them take the initiative to avoid dangerous areas or seek safe shelters during the bad weather. Special attention must be given to making the resources available in order to organize timely rescue of any person in distress at sea and provide timely support for those who need it during severe weather.

The authorities in the warning areas must take resilience measures to help save lives and reduce the damage to individual houses, public infrastructure and crops. In addition, all necessary steps are needed to move people living in low-lying areas, along rivers and streams and areas at high risk of flash floods and landslides to safe places. Special attention must be given to making the resources available in order to drain rainwater from agricultural fields, low-lying areas, urban areas, most densely populated areas, industrial zones and other areas most at-risk of flooding in an effort to reduce costly damage to crops and property.

Reporting by HOANG HIEP - Baotintuc– translating by H.L