Southern localities prepare for typhoon

Residents of Can Gio District have been safely evacuated to Long Hòa Secondary School.-VNA/VNS Photo Hoang Hai

Torrential rains of up to 250mm along with thunderstorms and strong winds are forecast to hit the area in Saturday night.

The typhoon is also expected to cause serious flooding to large parts of the city.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong on Saturday morning ordered the city authorities to review households living in unsafe areas to conduct further evacuation and ask the residents to reinforce their houses to prevent damages.

He said the city should take measures to ensure safety for major structures and safely operate Dau Tieng Reservoir to prevent damages to reservoirs in the city and low-lying areas of Sai Gon River.

The local authorities have instructed farmers in Can Gio District to ensure safety for more than 6,000 ha of aquaculture areas to minimise the possible damages.

According to Le Minh Dung, chairman of Can Gio District’s People’s Committee, all fishing vessels have docked at safe places on Saturday morning. Rice, noodles, clean water has been prepared. Schools all over the city are close since 12am on Saturday.

At a meeting of the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control on Saturday morning, deputy head of Natural Disaster Prevention and Control Department under Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Truong Son asked possibly-affected localities in the south central and southern region to complete preparation for the typhoon before 4pm on Saturday.

Authorities should prepare for further flash floods, landslides and damage to dykes.

The Irrigation Department has been tasked with supervising operation of reservoirs to ensure safety of the low-lying areas.

Fishing boats have been banned from going out to sea in Binh Thuan, Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Tien Giang, Ben Tre, Tra Vinh provinces and HCM City.

According to National Centre for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting, at 10am on Saturday, the typhoon was about 100km from Phu Quy Island of south central province of Binh Thuan Province with the gust power at the storm eye reaching 75 to 100 km per hour.

It is predicted to move towards the west and hit coastal areas from south central Ninh Thuan to Mekong Delta Province of Ben Tre by 10pm on Saturday.

When it enters the mainland of Ninh Thuan to Ben Tre provinces at 10am on Sunday morning, it will weaken and become a tropical depression with gust power lowering to 40-50 km per hour.

Rain is forecast in the south central and southern localities.

Water level of Cuu Long (Mekong) and Sai Gon rivers will rise to the highest on Saturday and Sunday, causing serious widespread flooding.