VietJoy

Workers clear toppled electric lines during the landfall of tropical storm Noul, in Hue, Vietnam, Sept. 18, 2020.

Tropical storm Noul made landfall Friday in central Vietnam, killing at least one person and triggering heavy rain in the central parts of the country.

State-run media report the storm hit the tourist city of Danang and veered north to Thua Thien Hue province before entering Laos around midday Friday, by then having weakened to a tropical depression.  Vietnam’s Tuoi Tre newspaper reported a man was killed by a falling tree and television footage showed flooded streets in some areas.

Surveillance footage from Thua Thien Hue Province showed the moment a utility pole fell on a passing motorcyclist in Hue city as the storm hit there. The motorcyclist was later seen emerging from the pile of branches and rushing toward safety.

State television VTV show footage of collapsed houses and damaged roofs, heavy rain and rough seas at various locations in the coastal provinces of Vietnam. VTV also reported that about 10 centimeters of rain fell in the Central Highlands.  

The government had previously made plans to evacuate up to half a million people when the storm was forecast to have wind speeds of up to 135 kilometers an hour. They canceled those plans after the storm was downgraded.  

Forecasters warned the system could still dump up to 25 centimeters of rain in parts of central Vietnam, potentially causing floods and landslides.