Heavy rainfall is expected to hit the mountainous parts of northern Vietnam from Friday evening before battering large swathes of the region from Saturday night, said the national weather agency.

Several northern mountainous provinces including Dien Bien, Son La, and Lai Chau were hit by showers and thunderstorms from Thursday night till early Friday morning, and could continue to experience the soaking weather during Friday.

These provinces are at high risk of facing flash floods in rivers and streams as well as landslides in hillside areas, the National Center for Hydrometeorological Forecasting warned.

The weather agency added that the northern mountainous parts will likely see moderate and scattered showers from Friday evening through Saturday, with precipitation possibly exceeding 100mm in some locations.

Residents in the northern region were told to brace for extreme downpours which could bring threats of flash floods, landslides, and flooding from Saturday night through Sunday.

They should also watch out for lightning strikes, whirlwinds, hail, and wind gusts during thunderstorms.

Between Monday and Thursday, the poor weather conditions such as extreme rainfall, thunderstorms, and lightning left two residents dead and two others missing in the northern mountainous provinces of Ha Giang, Lao Cai, Yen Bai, and Cao Bang, according to statistics from the national steering committee for natural disaster prevention and control.

Besides, the bad weather damaged 127 houses, 266 hectares of farming land, and 11 irrigation facilities.

Meanwhile, the scorching heat in central and southern provinces and cities is expected to become less intense from Saturday.

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