Heavy rain and strong winds topple trees, signboards across Hue, Da Nang

Prolonged heavy rain and strong winds battered central Vietnam on Tuesday morning, toppling trees and signboards in Da Nang and Quang Ngai, triggering road-blocking landslides in Quang Tri, and sweeping away boats in Hue and Khanh Hoa. Da Nang experienced heavy rain and winds of up to 74 kph on Tuesday morning. On Vo Van Kiet Street in An Hai Ward, strong gusts tore loose large metal sheets used to fence and advertise a real estate project, scattering them across the sidewalk. Near APEC Park, several trees were tilted or toppled. City maintenance workers cleared the fallen trees and trimmed branches in wind-exposed areas to prevent further collapses. Strong winds since Monday evening toppled several electronic signboards and decorative installations along the pedestrian street. Light rain continued in Da Nang on Tuesday morning as many foreign tourists walked in raincoats amid the cleanup and repair of damaged trees. Heavy rain and intermittent strong gusts swept through central Da Nang on Sunday evening, making some residents feel as though a storm was approaching. The winds uprooted many urban trees, with some falling onto parked vehicles. The photo shows a fallen tree on Nguyen Van Linh Street, which connects the airport to Dragon Bridge. Photo by Huy Linh In Hue, floodwaters carrying mud and debris spilled across the Ho Chi Minh Highway through A Luoi 2 and A Luoi 3 communes, disrupting traffic. In Hue, floodwaters carrying mud and debris spilled across the Ho Chi Minh Highway through A Luoi 2 and A Luoi 3 communes, disrupting traffic. In Hue, floodwaters carrying mud and debris spilled across the Ho Chi Minh Highway through A Luoi 2 and A Luoi 3 communes, disrupting traffic. Heavy rain overnight on Monday triggered landslides at several points along National Highway 49, disrupting traffic to mountainous communes in Hue. In A Luoi 5 Commune, fallen trees blocked the road, preventing vehicles from passing. Floodwaters surrounded several residential areas downstream of the Truoi River in Loc An Commune, at the foot of Bach Ma Mountain. With more heavy rain forecast, the Huong Dien and Binh Dien hydropower reservoirs and the Ta Trach Reservoir increased water releases downstream. Two days of persistent heavy rain triggered severe landslides on National Highway 9C through Kim Ngan Commune in Quang Tri Province. Hundreds of cubic meters of soil and rock slid down the hillside, covering the road and bringing traffic to a standstill. The abutment of Bai Sim Bridge on the Nghi Son-Bai Tranh road in Thanh Hoa Province's Thanh Ky Commune collapsed on Monday following heavy rain. The road surface cracked, halting traffic through the area. Heavy rain continued to batter several central provinces and cities on Monday morning as an intensified cold air mass combined with atmospheric disturbances in the upper-level easterly wind belt. Rough weather also affected vessels operating in central Vietnam coast. The cargo ship VTA NEPTUNE was dragged from its anchorage by waves and ran aground near the Laguna resort in Hue's Chan May-Lang Co Commune on Monday evening. The 150.5-m Vietnamese-flagged vessel has a deadweight tonnage of 23,620 and was carrying 20 crew members but no cargo. The ship had deployed two anchors and was listing about two degrees to port. Winds in the area were northeasterly at 39-61 kph, with gusts reaching 61-88 kph. Authorities are monitoring the situation and coordinating response efforts. In Quang Ngai, a 124-meter-long Panama-flagged cargo ship carrying more than 80 tons of oil and 14 crew members ran aground about 150 meters off Sa Huynh Beach on Tuesday morning. Photo by Hai Tien All crew members were safe, and no signs of an oil spill had been detected. The National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting said Hue, Da Nang and coastal areas of provinces from Quang Ngai to Dak Lak would receive widespread rainfall of 150-300 mm from Tuesday to Wednesday, with some locations expected to record more than 500 mm. Rainfall could exceed 100 mm within three hours, posing risks of flooding, flash floods and landslides. A fishing boat anchored off Hon Khoi in Khanh Hoa Province's Dong Ninh Hoa Ward was sunk by strong waves. Officers and soldiers from the Ninh Hai Border Guard Station towed it ashore.