Knowing I wanted to write about him, Huy sincerely shared with a humble tone: "I haven't done much! I'm just one individual. In the work of responding to natural disasters and extreme weather, there are countless forces and people who have made far greater contributions than I have...!"

Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Huy, originally from Hoa Loc commune, Thanh Hoa province, has over 20 years of research experience and is widely known as an expert and consultant on environmental issues, climate change adaptation, and disaster risk reduction both domestically and internationally, especially in disaster warnings and extreme weather events. He is affectionately known online as "Huy Nguyen the Weather Expert." His personal Facebook page currently has nearly 300,000 followers. Every post he publishes receives thousands to tens of thousands of interactions, mostly expressing appreciation and gratitude for the accurate, timely, and thorough information that helps many families proactively respond and protect their lives and property from the destructive power of natural disasters.

Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Huy. Photo: Provided by the interviewee.

Staying up all night for the community!

I've been following the Facebook page "Huy Nguyen" for several years now and have noticed that every rainy and stormy season, his personal account seems to be operating at full capacity. Huy recounts that on some days, his phone is overwhelmed with messages from people asking about the situation and developments of storms, floods, and landslides. Many nights he has to stay up almost all night guiding people in various provinces on how to respond to natural disasters and storms over the phone.

There were times when things were "critical," and to answer the questions of numerous readers on social media, he proactively scheduled live streams to interact with and guide more people. When giving instructions, he was always meticulous, careful, and thoughtful, reminding everyone of even the smallest details, such as: "People in Nghe An, Ha Tinh , and the western part of Thanh Hoa… remember to fully charge your phones and other power-saving devices tomorrow. In Vinh City, in the Hoang Mai area, please note that if you park, avoid parking under trees, under advertising signs, and in low-lying areas…"

"Weather Huy" on a field trip to inspect and provide forecasts and warnings about floods to help the community respond. Photo: Facebook of the person in question.

For example, on the night of July 23, 2025, he stayed awake almost all night making phone calls and instructing the owner of Trung Kien passenger bus company (one of two sleeper buses carrying about 20 passengers that were stranded in the middle of two deeply flooded areas on National Highway 7A, in the western part of Nghe An province) to take the passengers to the mountains to escape the disaster.

He was also responsible and meticulous in sharing his experience, guiding the vehicle owner and 2-3 other young men to survey a safe location on the mountain, and then finding a low-slope path to lead them up the mountain to avoid rising water at night. Thanks to following his guidance and with the help of the authorities and local forces, the entire group was safe, escaping the "dilemma" in the middle of the night, in the wild mountainous area, with the road buried under mud.

"I took the initiative because I thought it would be helpful to everyone!"

Flood forecaster Nguyen Ngoc Huy was a victim of the historic flood in early November 1999. At that time, he and two fellow students were renting a room in a row of single-story houses in Hue City when the floodwaters rose very quickly. In just one or two hours, the water had risen almost to head level. Huy and the others rushed out to help evacuate the elderly and children to the only two-story house in the neighborhood before returning to their room. The water continued to rise without stopping.

People had to climb onto a makeshift platform – a wooden beam supporting a plank near the roof – and sit there for two days before miraculously escaping disaster. Perhaps it was this terrifying experience that fueled his determination to later pursue a PhD in climate and disaster risk management at Kyoto University (Japan). Huy believes that the lack of weather forecast information, which put him in a passive position, was a lesson he learned. Later, in his disaster warnings, he always tried to be as detailed and use the simplest language possible when communicating with people in disaster-stricken areas.

Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Huy stopped his car to livestream directly on his personal Facebook page, helping people to have timely and effective response plans before storms and floods. (Screenshot from Huy Nguyen's Facebook page.)

Despite his busy schedule, Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Huy has consistently appeared on his personal Facebook page for many years to warn and guide the community during natural disasters or extreme weather events. “I do this work very naturally because it’s my area of ​​expertise. Furthermore, I believe that forecasting and warning are necessary and useful for everyone. Accurate and timely warnings help people proactively respond and minimize losses of life and property,” Dr. Huy sincerely shared.

In the forecasting process, Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Huy relies on open-source data and some sources that require purchase or subscription, both international and domestic. Currently, he is fortunate to have a free account from Watec to access approximately 2,300 rain gauge stations nationwide, including historical rainfall data for comparison, which is beneficial for his forecasting and warning efforts. Another particularly important source of "data," according to him, is personal experience. To accurately predict natural disasters in a particular area, one must understand the topography and climate characteristics of that location, meaning combining many interacting factors, not just data.

Interestingly, although the forecasts on the "Huy Nguyen" page are almost entirely accurate, he never shows any signs of complacency. In his articles, after assessing and giving his opinion, he always includes a "warning": This is only the information of an independent expert. He also advises readers to consult official information from central and local authorities for a coordinated response.

"For me, the biggest fear is making wrong predictions or warnings. I've made wrong predictions and acted on emotion before, so I always remind myself to control my emotions and make accurate predictions based on data," Huy confided sincerely.

When asked about his plans for this work in the future, Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Huy shared: “In recent years, forecast products from domestic and international forecasting centers have been relatively accurate, and most are open-source forecasts. People can also proactively monitor extreme weather information through mobile phone apps, so they can be proactive in responding. Therefore, I may gradually reduce forecasting and warnings on social media and focus more on in-depth research. That is also work that will be more helpful to the community, especially in the context of increasingly extreme weather and climate, and climate change is becoming more intense and serious…”

According to Associate Professor Dr. Mai Van Khiem, Director of the National Center for Meteorological and Hydrological Forecasting, disseminating and sharing meteorological and hydrological information to the community is essential, helping people to be vigilant, proactively prevent and mitigate damage caused by natural disasters. Individuals and independent experts like Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Huy have contributed to spreading social awareness of the topic of responding to climate change and natural disaster risks... Hopefully, in the future, there will be more opportunities for scientists inside and outside forecasting agencies to exchange, cooperate, and share data to bring forecast and warning information closer and faster to the community, aiming for the common goal of minimizing damage from natural disasters and ensuring the safety of the people.

Not only did Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Huy diligently forecast, warn, and guide the community during storms, floods, and landslides, but he also repeatedly acted as a "coordinator," connecting relief and charitable activities with the goal of providing the most help and minimizing damage to the people. Despite doing so much, when I expressed my desire to learn more about his personal life, Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Huy declined, saying he didn't want to talk much about himself, only wanting people to know him as "Huy Nguyen the Weatherman" on his Facebook page and through his practical activities there…

BATTLE SCRIPT

    Source: https://www.qdnd.vn/phong-su-dieu-tra/cuoc-thi-nhung-tam-guong-binh-di-ma-cao-quy-lan-thu-17/anh-huy-thoi-tiet-850725