Storm Wipha hits northern Vietnam with strong winds and heavy rain

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Tropical Storm Wipha made landfall in northern Vietnam on Tuesday, bringing strong winds and heavy rain to parts of the country’s north and central regions.

The storm came ashore at 10 a.m. with maximum sustained winds of 102 kilometers per hour (63 mph), according to local weather officials. After landfall, it began moving southwest.

Wipha was classified as a typhoon on Monday while over open water, but weakened overnight and was downgraded to a tropical storm before reaching land.

The storm knocked out power in parts of Hung Yen Province, east of Hanoi. Residents rushed to gas stations to buy fuel for generators, state media reported.

The streets of capital city, Hanoi, were nearly empty as the storm moved inland. Most businesses were closed and the city government has advised residents to stay home and evacuate buildings that are unstable or in flood-prone areas.

“If the storm is serious, people shouldn’t go out anyway because it would be dangerous on the road and there is also a chance of flooding,” said Minh Doan, a taxi driver in Hanoi.

Flights were canceled across northern Vietnam, and airports in the port city of Hai Phong and Quang Ninh province were closed.

Nearly 150,000 hectares (370,000 acres) of aquaculture farms and more than 20,000 floating fish cages are at risk from flooding and strong winds, according to state media.

Vietnam has warned of flooding as heavy rain from Storm Wipha moves inland.

In the Philippines, more than 80,000 people remain in emergency shelters after floods, landslides and tidal surges over the weekend.

Most government offices and schools in the capital and 10 provinces were shut Tuesday due to widespread flooding from heavy monsoon rains, and troops evacuated residents from villages swamped by knee- to waist-deep water while the coast guard deployed buses and boats to assist stranded commuters. At least three people have died.

Thailand’s meteorological department warned of thunderstorms and possible flash floods from Tuesday to Thursday, especially in the country's north and northeast, while the south could experience tides as high as four meters. The department advised small boats to avoid sailing during the period.

Global warming is making storms like Wipha stronger and wetter, said Benjamin P. Horton, dean of the School of Energy and Environment at City University of Hong Kong. Warmer oceans give tropical storms more fuel, leading to more intense winds, heavier rain and shifting rainfall patterns across East Asia. “Rising sea surface temperatures, fueled by climate change, can intensify these storms,” he said.

Hau Dinh in Hanoi, Vietnam, Jim Gomez in Manila, Philippines, and Jintamas Saksornchai in Bangkok contributed to this report.

Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receive support from several private foundations. See more about AP’s climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Trees are anchored and tied together at a bonsai garden as protection from tropical storm Wipha in Hanoi, Vietnam on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)

A motorcyclist drives past fallen bicycles in the rain caused by tropical storm Wipha in Hanoi, Vietnam on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Huy Han)

Motorcyclists drive in the rain caused by tropical storm Wipha in Hanoi, Vietnam on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)

A motorcyclist drives in the rain caused by tropical storm Wipha in Hanoi, Vietnam on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)

A man throws a fishing net along a swollen river following tropical storm Wipha fueled monsoon rains in Marikina, Philippines on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

A woman looks outside from her flooded home following tropical storm Wipha fueled monsoon rains in Quezon city, Philippines on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

A man wades along chest-deep flood waters following tropical storm Wipha fueled monsoon rains in Quezon city, Philippines on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Trees are anchored and tied together at a bonsai garden as protection from tropical storm Wipha in Hanoi, Vietnam on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)

A motorcyclist drives past fallen bicycles in the rain caused by tropical storm Wipha in Hanoi, Vietnam on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Huy Han)

Motorcyclists drive in the rain caused by tropical storm Wipha in Hanoi, Vietnam on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)

A motorcyclist drives in the rain caused by tropical storm Wipha in Hanoi, Vietnam on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)

A rider drives his motorcycle along a flooded road following tropical storm Wipha fueled monsoon rains in Manila, Philippines on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

A man throws a fishing net along a swollen river following tropical storm Wipha fueled monsoon rains in Marikina, Philippines on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

A woman looks outside from her flooded home following tropical storm Wipha fueled monsoon rains in Quezon city, Philippines on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

A man wades along chest-deep flood waters following tropical storm Wipha fueled monsoon rains in Quezon city, Philippines on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Trees are anchored and tied together at a bonsai garden as protection from tropical storm Wipha in Hanoi, Vietnam on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)

A motorcyclist drives past fallen bicycles in the rain caused by tropical storm Wipha in Hanoi, Vietnam on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Huy Han)

Motorcyclists drive in the rain caused by tropical storm Wipha in Hanoi, Vietnam on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)

A motorcyclist drives in the rain caused by tropical storm Wipha in Hanoi, Vietnam on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)

RHO, Italy (AP) — No ice is colder and harder than speedskating ice. The precision it takes has meant that Olympic speedskaters have never competed for gold on a temporary indoor rink – until the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games.

In the pursuit of maximum glide and minimum friction, Olympic officials brought on ice master Mark Messer, a veteran of six previous Olympic speedskating tracks and the ice technician in charge of the Olympic Oval in Calgary, Canada — one of the fastest tracks in the world with over 300 records.

Messer has been putting that experience to work one thin layer of ice at a time since the end of October at the new Speed Skating Stadium, built inside adjacent trade fair halls in the city of Rho just north of Milan.

“It’s one of the biggest challenges I’ve had in icemaking,’’ Messer said during an interview less than two weeks into the process.

If Goldilocks were a speedskater, hockey ice would be medium hard, for fast puck movement and sharp turns. Figure skating ice would be softer, allowing push off for jumps and so the ice doesn’t shatter on landing. Curling ice is the softest and warmest of all, for controlled sliding.

For speedskating ice to be just right, it must be hard, cold and clean. And very, very smooth.

“The blades are so sharp, that if there is some dirt, the blade will lose the edge,’’ Messer said, and the skater will lose speed.

Speedskater Enrico Fabris, who won two Olympic golds in Turin in 2006, has traded in his skates to be deputy sports manager at the speedskating venue in Rho. For him, perfect ice means the conditions are the same for all skaters — and then if it's fast ice, so much the better.

"It's more of a pleasure to skate on this ice,'' he said.

Messer’s first Olympics were in Calgary in 1988 — the first time speedskating was held indoors. “That gave us some advantages because we didn’t have to worry about the weather, wind blowing or rain,’’ he said. Now he is upping the challenge by becoming the first ice master to build a temporary rink for the Olympics.

Before Messer arrived in Italy, workers spent weeks setting up insulation to level the floor and then a network of pipes and rubber tubes that carry glycol — an antifreeze — that is brought down to minus 7 or minus 8 degrees Celsius (17.6 to 19.4 degrees Fahrenheit) to make the ice.

Water is run through a purification system — but it can’t be too pure, or the ice that forms will be too brittle. Just the right amount of impurities “holds the ice together,’’ Messer said.

The first layers of water are applied slowly, with a spray nozzle; after the ice reaches a few centimeters it is painted white — a full day’s work — and the stripes are added to make lanes.

“The first one takes about 45 minutes. And then as soon as it freezes, we go back and do it again, and again and again. So we do it hundreds of times,’’ Messer said.

As the ice gets thicker, and is more stable, workers apply subsequent layers of water with hoses. Messer attaches his hose to hockey sticks for easier spreading.

What must absolutely be avoided is dirt, dust or frost — all of which can cause friction for the skaters, slowing them down. The goal is that when the skaters push “they can go as far as possible with the least amount of effort,’’ Messer said.

The Zamboni ice resurfacing machine plays a key role in keeping the track clean, cutting off a layer and spraying water to make a new surface.

One challenge is gauging how quickly the water from the resurfacing machine freezes in the temporary rink.

Another is getting the ice to the right thickness so that the Zamboni, weighing in at six tons, doesn’t shift the insulation, rubber tubing or ice itself.

“When you drive that out, if there’s anything moving it will move. We don’t want that,’’ Messer said.

The rink got its first big test on Nov. 29-30 during a Junior World Cup event. In a permanent rink, test events are usually held a year before the Olympics, leaving more time for adjustments. “We have a very small window to learn,’’ Messer acknowledged.

Dutch speedskater Kayo Vos, who won the men’s neo-senior 1,000 meters, said the ice was a little soft — but Messer didn’t seem too concerned.

“We went very modest to start, now we can start to change the temperatures and try to make it faster and still maintain it as a safe ice,’’ he said.

Fine-tuning the air temperature and humidity and ice temperature must be done methodically — taking into account that there will be 6,000 spectators in the venue for each event. The next real test will be on Jan. 31, when the Olympians take to the ice for their first training session.

“Eighty percent of the work is done but the hardest part is the last 20 percent, where we have to try to find the values and the way of running the equipment so all the skaters get the same conditions and all the skaters get the best conditions,’’ Messer said.

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Serpentines are set on the ice of the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Ice Master Mark Messer poses in the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Workers clean the ice surface during a peed skating Junior World Cup and Olympic test event, in Rho, near Milan, Italy, Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Ice Master Mark Messer poses in the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Ice Master Mark Messer poses in the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)