Vietnam is forecast to experience severe weather conditions in 2015, especially heat waves and droughts, according to the National Hydro-Meteorology Service (HMS).

At a conference reviewing disaster prevention initiatives in 2014 and plans for 2015 held in Da Nang city on April 22, the agency said that the El Nino pattern in 2015 will have a negative impact on disaster risk and hydro-meteorological changes in Vietnam.

Vietnam is likely to experience more severe heat waves, droughts and storms, the agency said, adding that rain and flooding will be less severe but more abnormal.

Drought, water scarcity and saltwater intrusion will increase in central and south central provinces and could last until September, it said.

Drought may be severe in some districts in southern central provinces while transversely some central and the Central Highlands provinces will experience frequent flash floods and landslides.

The agency committed to make its predictions of disaster risks and hydro-meteorological services adequately rapid and more accurate.

Le Cong Thanh, General Director of the the HMS, said storms, tropical low pressure, flash floods and whirlwinds in 2014 were below average levels but occurred more unpredictably.

Only a few storms landed Vietnam last year but the ones that did caused flash floods in northern midland and mountainous regions, causing heavy damages to both people and assets, Thanh said, adding that Lang Son city suffered its worst flood in many years.

In the early months of 2015, periods of severe drought occurred in many provinces, most severely in the southern central provinces, however abnormally heavy rain from Thua Thien-Hue to Quang Ngai in late March caused heavy off-season floods.-VNA