Heavy rains cut off villages in central vietnam as Typhoon Bualoi nears

Central provinces including Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, and Quang Tri have been hit by heavy rains due to the impacts of Typhoon Bualoi circulation, which have flooded low-lying areas and isolated several villages.

In Thanh Hoa, about 30 villages in Van Xuan, Tan Thanh, and Tam Thanh communes were cut off after downpours from Friday night.

Xuan Chinh Commune was hit hardest, with 9 of its 14 villages isolated. Many inter-commune roads were submerged 60–70 cm and over a meter in some areas.

Local police erected warning signs and deployed officers to block dangerous sections, barring people and vehicles from crossing.

In Van Phu and Hoa Quy communes, multiple hillside landslides emerged on Saturday, threatening several villages and prompting authorities to relocate property and evacuate residents to safe areas.

To prepare for Typhoon Bualoi, which is forecast to hit the north-central coast on Monday, Thanh Hoa People’s Committee Chairman Nguyen Hoai Anh ordered mountainous communes to urgently evacuate residents from zones at high risk of landslides and flash floods, with completion required before 5 p.m. on Sunday.

Coastal communes were instructed to move people living within 200 meters of the shoreline inland. All students in Thanh Hoa will be off school starting Monday morning.

In Nghe An, persistent heavy rain from Friday night deeply flooded many streets in the province’s capital Vinh, paralyzing traffic.

Many streets in Truong Vinh Ward were 20–40 cm under water. Motorcyclists rode on sidewalks to avoid deeper sections, while cars hugged the median to inch forward.

On Truong Van Linh and Mai Lao Bang streets, vehicles queued bumper-to-bumper and moved slowly.

Since Thursday night, heavy rains have caused widespread landslides in mountainous communes of Tuong Duong and Ky Son districts.

In Tam Thai Commune, 7 of 14 villages were cut off, while inter-commune roads to Pha Lom, Huoi Son, Vang Mon, Xop Nam, and Phong villages were deeply flooded.

In Chieu Luu and Muong Tip communes, heavy rain caused landslides.

Xop Tip Village suffered a large slide that blocked the main road. At Chieu Luu 2 Primary School, about 20 meters of perimeter fence collapsed. Numerous spillways were overtopped, with water rising and currents running fast.

In response to Typhoon Bualoi, Nghe An Province banned sea travel from 5 a.m. on Saturday and ordered evacuations from coastal, low-lying, and landslide- or flash-flood-prone areas.

Localities were instructed to provide temporary shelter, food, and essential supplies to ensure evacuees’ safety and stability.

Quang Tri Provincei has recorded 50–70 mm of rain over six hours, with certain places dumped over 100 mm.

Traffic on some roads was paralyzed.

Bualoi is the 10th storm in the South China Sea this year, following nine earlier storms and four tropical depressions. The most recent, Super Typhoon Ragasa, weakened into a tropical depression before reaching Vietnam, causing no damage. But officials warn Bualoi is different: fast-moving, intensifying, and set to collide with Vietnam during its peak strength.

At a national emergency meeting on Saturday, forecasters said Typhoon Bualoi lay centered about 300 km from the Paracel Islands at noon, packing sustained winds of 103–133 kph. Moving west-northwest at 35 kph, the storm is expected to be off the coast of Quang Tri–Quang Ngai by Sunday morning, around 120 km from Hue, and make landfall in the central region on Monday morning.

By Dac Thanh & Duc Hung & Le Hoang – VnExpress.net – September 27, 2025