The Gia Lai Department of Education and Training announced that school closures will continue until further notice. Schools are advised to closely monitor weather forecasts and developments to timely inform teachers and students.

Once floodwaters recede, schools must promptly address any damage, clean up, sanitize, and restore normal teaching and learning routines.

The heavy rainfall causing these closures also affected other central regions. Last night and early this morning, Da Nang City and the eastern provinces from Quang Ngai to Khanh Hoa experienced heavy to very heavy rain. Rainfall recorded from 19h on 18/11 to 3h on 19/11 exceeded 160 mm in some areas.

In Gia Lai, surging waters from the Ha Thanh River submerged many residential areas in Quy Nhon Bac ward. Some areas were submerged over 2m deep, forcing hundreds of people to climb onto rooftops and mezzanines, calling for help.

Many areas in Quy Nhon, Gia Lai province, were deeply flooded from last night until this morning. Photo: Minh Bang

This incident is part of a broader pattern of continuous floods affecting the Central provinces since October. An estimated hundreds of thousands of students have faced prolonged school closures, with many unable to study online due to limited equipment, internet access, and electricity.

According to regulations from the Ministry of Education and Training, local authorities and schools are authorized to proactively dismiss students in cases of natural disasters or unusual weather. However, they must arrange make-up classes to ensure students' knowledge acquisition.

Tran Hoa