Why is the Thunder God Thunder (Rammasun) so powerful?

Despite being the first storm of the season, operating on the North East Sea towards the Gulf of Tonkin, but Rammasun storm (Thunder God) achieved very strong winds, level 14-15, shock level 16-17.

This is quite different from the early season storms that operate in the North East Sea, often with weak winds, moving around and being able to weaken quickly or melt at sea. Explaining this, Mr. Le Thanh Hai - Deputy Director of the Central Hydrometeorological Forecast Center - said:

- There are many strong storm factors, but the first factor is high temperature sea water . Sea water from 27 degrees or more has created conditions for storms to form and develop. But now in the north of the East Sea, the sea surface temperature has risen to 31 degrees. It is the amount of evaporation from the sea surface to the atmosphere that will add energy to the storm .

So with warm waters like North East Sea, the possibility of developing storms is huge.

Mr. Le Thanh Hai - Deputy Director of the Central Hydrometeorological Forecast Center - (Photo: T. PHUNG)

* This is a strong storm, rare in the North, sir?

- This storm is strongest in the Tonkin Gulf since the storm of Son Tinh in 2012. Grade 12 storms, recession level 13-14 are rare and dangerous. No ships can stand on the sea. The land will break down on the land, the level 3-4 house cannot stand it. Except for houses with solid frames.

* In the morning of July 18, how did the storm's direction change?

- The path of the storm is different from July 17. Yesterday the storm tended to go into the middle of the Northern Delta but today tends to be a little more northward. That is, the storm moved into the northern Gulf of Tonkin and headed to Quang Ninh, Hai Phong. Therefore, the main concentration of rain in the northern mountainous area is the plains of midland less rain.

The main focus is to land in Quang Ninh and Hai Phong, but the provinces of delta, midland and Thanh Hoa also affect strong winds of level 6 and above.

* Will the storm going up to the northern mountainous area cause a huge flash flood risk for mountainous provinces?

- In addition to strong winds, large waves at sea and coastal areas, especially this storm will cause huge rainfall for the northern mountainous provinces.

The storms that entered the Vietnam-China border often caused terrible rains in the northern mountains. So the provinces of Lai Chau, Lao Cai, Tuyen Quang, Lang Son, Cao Bang, Quang Ninh, Bac Kan, Yen Bai, Son La, Thai Nguyen, Bac Giang and Vinh Phuc all have the risk of flash floods and landslides.

In particular, flash floods often occur at night so people in low areas need to move to more permanent places. The forecast models show that the northern mountainous area on the night of July 19 and July 20 has a very heavy rain with an average rainfall of 200-300mm, a place of 500mm, so the risk of landslides and flash floods is very high.