Typhoon Bebinca gains strength as mainland braces

HÀ NỘI — Typhoon Bebinca, the fourth storm to form in the East Sea this year, had gained in strength as it approached northern and central provinces on Thursday morning.

The National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting said at 10am on Thursday the typhoon was about 180km from the north-eastern province of Quảng Ninh’s Móng Cái City, with winds speed reaching up to 100km per hour.

The storm was moving west at 10-15km per hour and is predicted to make landfall at 10am on Friday between Thái Bình Province and Nghệ An Province.

The northern part of the Bắc Bộ (Tonkin) Gulf has been identified as a danger zone during the typhoon by the centre.

Heavy rains of up to 350mm are forecast to hit the north and central provinces, especially north-eastern provinces, the northern delta region and provinces of Sơn La, Hòa Bình, Thanh Hóa and Nghệ An.

Hòa Bình and Thanh Hóa provinces could face up to 500mm of rain.

Water levels could rise by two to four metres in the Hồng (Red) – Thái Bình river system and the Hoàng Long River, and waters could swell by three to seven metres in rivers from Thanh Hóa to Nghệ An between Thursday and Saturday.

Lai Châu, Sơn La, Hoà Bình, Yên Bái, Phú Thọ, Quảng Ninh, Lạng Sơn, Cao Bằng, Thanh Hóa and Nghệ An have been put on high alert for flash floods and landslides, while urban and low lying areas in the northern delta region and the provinces of Thanh Hóa and Nghệ An are forecast to face inundation, the centre said. — VNS