From 1h40 to 2 am on March 29, the people in Pho Giang Town and the three communes of Long Phuc, Luong Son and Xuan Thuong in Bao Yen district were awakened by the constant bangs on the roofs. Detecting hail, they immediately hid themselves under the bed or shielded themselves with blankets.

Pho Giang Town and Luong Son commune were violently attacked by hail. The ice pieces of from 4-6 cm to 7-8 cm in size, falling in thick density, damaged the roofs of hundreds of houses. The hail was accompanied by strong wind, making many wooden houses collapsed. A number of people were injured by falling ice pieces.

Mr. Tran Dinh Khai, Director of the Lao Cai Center for Hydrometeorological Forecast, said the hail appeared with very strong wind (equivalent to wind in storms). The rainfall was quite large, over 40 mm. 

Khai expressed his surprise with the hail this morning. Typically hails are formed when there is a conflict between the two hot and cold air flows. Since March 27, the cold air has been still remained so the temperature in Lao Cai is still low, 24 degrees Celsius at night.

Khai confirmed that Lao Cai has never suffered from such fierce hails.

Previous, in the early morning of March 27, severe hail occurred in 34 communes of the three districts of Lao Cai Province - Muong Khuong, Bac Ha and Si Ma Cai, damaging 12,000 houses and injuring over 30 people. 

In the afternoon of March 27, hail also appeared in the districts of Sapa, Bao Thang and Lao Cai City but the ice pieces were oly 1-3 cm in size.

Vietnamnet