Tropical Storm Dianmu batters northern Vietnam

By Bennett Murray

HANOI, Vietnam (AA) – Vietnamese authorities reported Saturday that one person was left dead and four others injured after Tropical Storm Dianmu made landfall in northern Vietnam.

The storm, which unleashed winds up to 90 kilometers (56 miles) per hour and 200 millimeters of rain, hit the port city Haiphong at 2 p.m. (0700GMT) Friday before moving westward toward Hanoi, reported the Tuoi Tre newspaper, affecting most of northern Vietnam.

Business in the capital largely came to a halt as shops and cafes shuttered their windows and drivers mostly avoided the streets.

The single fatality was reported in rural Son La province, while three were injured in Hanoi and one in Vinh Phuc province.

Property damage was relatively minimal, although 11 houses were reported blown down in Quang Ninh province while 36 buildings were submerged in Son La.

The storm began to subside at around 7 p.m. before dissipating in the night.

But authorities expect flooding and mudslides in the north’s mountainous regions this weekend from Friday’s heavy rainfall.

The projected flooding in the mountains follows flash floods caused by Typhoon Nida earlier this month, which caused days of storms in northern Vietnam that killed at least four people after the typhoon made landfall in southern China on Aug. 2.