Flights cancelled due to tropical storm Vamco

Vamco is heading for central Vietnam (Source:Internet)

Many flights have been cancelled due to tropical storm Vamco, the third so far this year, as it hits central Vietnam.

Vietnam Airlines, the national flag carrier, said it would not release any flights to or from the central city of Da Nang between 2pm and 5pm of September 14 to ensure the safety of its passengers.

Earlier, the airline had cancelled four flights to and from Buon Ma Thuot city in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak and two flights to and from the central province of Quang Nam.

Low-cost carrier VietJet Air cancelled flights to and from the central cities of Hue and Da Nang, and Chu Lai of Quang Nam province.

On September 14, Jetstar Pacific said the weather in Buon Ma Thuot was so bad that a flight travelling from the northern port city of Hai Phong to Buon Ma Thuot had to land at Tan Son Nhat airport in Ho Chi Minh City.

Also on the same day, the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control and the National Committee for Search and Rescue issued an urgent notice asking relevant agencies from Thanh Hoa to Binh Thuan and the Central Highlands provinces of Kon Tum, Gia Lai and Dak Lak to brace for the storm.

They were urged to inform fishermen about the storm’s movement and tow fishing boats to safety.

In Da Nang, district and communal authorities were requested to evacuate those living in low-lying areas to higher grounds.

According to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, the storm was located 140 kilometres to the east of Da Nang – Quang Ngai coast as of 8 am on September 14, packing winds of up to 60-75 kilometres per hour.

In the next 24 hours, it will move west-southwest to the mainland and weaken into a tropical pressure.

From September 15-18, the north central and northern delta are forecast to experience moderate-to-heavy rains.-VNA

VNA