PM urges response efforts as tropical storm heading towards central region

People’s Committees of cities and provinces need to ensure safety of activities at sea, coordinate with concerned forces to control the operation of vessels. (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on September 16 issued a notice, asking relevant ministries, agencies and localities to keep a close eye on the development of Storm Noul and put forth specific tasks.

People’s Committees of cities and provinces need to ensure safety of activities at sea, coordinate with concerned forces to control the operation of vessels, and guide local residents to take preventive measures in order to protect crops, houses and other facilities.

Human resources and equipment should be ready for the evacuation of people in dangerous areas, with attention paid to COVID-19 prevention and control, according to the notice.

The PM has warned of flash floods and landslides in mountainous areas after heavy rains, saying measures are needed to ensure the safety of reservoirs, especially important ones or those under construction.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment will provide update about the storm for people and relevant agencies.

The Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control will inform vessels of dangerous areas, and instruct ministries, agencies and localities in response efforts.

Specific tasks have also been assigned to other ministries and agencies in the notice.

At 4 a.m. on September 17, storm Noul is forecast to be around 450 km to the southeast of Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago, off the central coast, with a maximum wind speed of 90 kph.

Weather forecasting centers in Japan, Hong Kong and the Philippines, and Tropical Storm Risk (TSR) - a leading forecaster and mapper of tropical storm activity - predict the storm will keep strengthening until wind speeds reach 110-120 kph and head toward central Vietnam.

Storm Noul is the fifth formed this year in the East Sea. The fourth storm, Higos, hit last month, making landfall in China.

Natural disasters like droughts, floods and landslides killed 133 people in Vietnam last year and caused losses worth around 7 trillion VND (302.6 million USD), according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

In the first half of this year they claimed 47 lives and caused losses worth 3.3 trillion VND.

The East Sea could see 11-13 storms and tropical depressions this year, half of them affecting the country, meteorologists have warned.