Although Typhoon No. 1 Wutip did not make landfall directly in Vietnam, the large storm circulation caused a heavy rain in the Central Central and Northern Central Highlands. The heavy rain has led to flooding and inundation.
Comments about the appearance of particularly heavy floods in the middle of summer are information that people are interested in. The reporter had an interview with Associate Professor, Dr. Mai Van Khiem - Director of the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting to analyze this phenomenon.
Dr. Mai Van Khiem, how does the meteorological agency assess the rainfall in the Central provinces in recent days, whether it exceeds the historical level or not?
- Unusual heavy rain in the Central Central region occurred from June 11 to 13. On June 12, some traditional meteorological stations in the Central Central region recorded rainfall exceeding the historical value of the same period in June.
From 11 - 13:00 on June 13, 2025, the Central Central provinces will have total rainfall from 250 - 400mm, especially the provinces from Quang Tri - Da Nang will have total rainfall for 3 days from 300 - 650mm, some places will have higher rainfall; the South East (Hue) will have 768mm.
Notably, in the Southeast, 559mm on June 12, 2025 exceeded the previous historical value of 411mm on June 25, 1993.
In addition, on June 11 and 12, many automatic rain gauge stations in this area, especially in Hue and Da Nang, also recorded accumulated rainfall with high intensity in short periods of time.
In total, there are 32 automatic rain gauge stations with accumulated rainfall in 6 hours of over 200mm, especially in Hue and Da Nang areas. Of which, the heaviest rainfall in 6 hours at Bach Ma station in Loc Tri commune, Phu Loc district, Thua Thien Hue province was 319.4mm.
As you analyzed in Hue, you have observed an extremely large amount of rain, what is the cause of the rain and how is it compared to history, sir?
- Due to the influence of the western edge of the circulation of storm No. 1, from the night of June 10 to the morning of June 13, Hue city had very heavy rain, especially heavy rain and historic rain in June.
It can be affirmed that this is the historic heavy rainfall in June in Hue. In particular, the rainfall on June 12 in most localities exceeded the record of the heaviest rainfall of the day since 1976, especially the rainfall at Bach Ma station reached 884.2mm. This is a completely unusual and rare phenomenon of rain (it can be said that it has never been seen before) in June - the main month of summer.
So, please tell us the current flood situation on the rivers of the Central region, how to forecast the flood trend in the Central region, sir?
- From the night of June 11 to 13, a flood occurred on the rivers from South Quang Binh to Quang Nam. Up to now, the flood peak on Thach Han River (Quang Tri), Bo River (Hue City) is at alert level 3; Huong River (Hue City), Vu Gia River (Quang Nam) is 0.1 - 0.15m higher than alert level 2.
In particular, the Kien Giang River (Quang Binh) is still rising slowly and at a high level. The water level at 1:00 p.m. on June 13, at Le Thuy station was 2.77 m, 0.07 m above alert level 3.
Deep flooding occurred in Bo Trach, Quang Ninh, Le Thuy districts (Quang Binh), Hai Lang, Cam Lo, Trieu Phong, Gio Linh, Dong Ha city (Quang Tri); Phong Dien, Quang Dien, Phu Loc, Phu Vang (Hue city).
It is forecasted that in the next 12 hours, floods on the Kien Giang River will continue to rise slowly and 0.2 - 0.3m higher than alert level 3, then decrease. Flooding in Le Thuy district will last for the next 2-3 days. In the next 12 - 24 hours, floods on other rivers from Quang Binh to Quang Nam will fluctuate at alert level 1 - alert level 2 and above alert level 2; flooding in the provinces will gradually decrease.
How do you evaluate the flood situation in the Central region in the middle of summer and what is the level of flood this time, what warnings?
- The recent flood in the Central Central provinces was a rare high flood in June. The flood peak on Kien Giang, Thach Han, Bo rivers, and Vu Gia rivers is considered the highest flood peak in the past 30 years compared to the same period.
Thus, historic floods and extreme phenomena are no longer rare and are no longer limited to the peak of the rainy and stormy season.
Sincerely thank you!
