After battering central-northern coastal districts on October 28, Son Tinh was downgraded, but heavy rains accompanied by strong winds caused substantial damage to these districts.

At 04.00am on October 29, the storm was churning along the coastline of Haiphong city and Quang Ninh province, packing downgraded winds of between 62-74kph.

 In the next 12 hours, it is forecast to move north-west, weaken into a tropical low pressure system, and still dump heavy rains on northern coastal provinces.

Striking the coastal districts from Ninh Binh province to Haiphong city on October 28, Son Tinh blew off the roofs of thousands of houses, brought down a large number of big trees, and caused widespread outage in these localities, especially in Nam Dinh and Thai Binh provinces.

Thousands of local people were forced to evacuate from the flood-prone areas to higher ground. Many were required to stay indoors.

In Thai Binh province, one of the hardest hit locality, major roads in Thai Binh city were inundated, prompting traffic to grind to a halt on October 29.

The whole province suffered from widespread outage, paralyzing the communications system in coastal districts of Tien Hai and Thai Thuy.

In Ninh Binh province, strong winds gusting more than 100kph downed many big trees and ripped through dozens of local houses. In Ngu Loc district, a sudden blackout left thousands of households in the dark.

Strong winds and downed trees also paralyzed the power supply system in the whole of Nam Dinh province. Power generators were used in several key agencies to support communications. Heavy rains and downed trees hampered rescue work in outlying areas. 

 A 180-m TV antenna tower, the tallest of its kind in northern Vietnam, was brought down late on October 28. The tower, costing tens of billions of Vietnam Dong, was put into operation in 2010.

In Thanh Hoa province, power had not been restored in the coastal district of Nga Son until 09.00am on October 29. Many schools announced activities off and reserved places for storm evacuees.   

Border guard, militia, and volunteer forces have fanned out to coastal and flood-prone areas to help local people with rescue work.

VOV