Tran Quang Hoai, deputy head of the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control (Source: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - Ministries, sectors and localities must remain active in responding to storm Etau and subsequent storms, Tran Quang Hoai, deputy head of the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, has said.
Addressing a meeting of the committee in Hanoi on November 9, Hoai noted that along with Etau, the 12th storm in the East Sea this year, a low pressure system is gaining in strength and may become the 13th storm to strike Vietnam’s central region.
He asked coastal localities to monitor Etau’s movements while also closely managing the operations of vessels and keeping them informed of storm developments.
It is necessary to design plans to ensure the safety of local people and property as well as tourists on islands and coastal areas, he said.
He urged localities to review areas at high risk of flash floods or landslides and evacuate residents to safer places, while focusing on ensuring the safe operation of reservoirs and hydropower plants.
Urban areas should have irrigation plans in place to avoid flooding, he added.
Meanwhile, Mai Van Khiem, Director of the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, said Etau has winds at level 7 and even level 9, or over 80 km per hour, in areas near its eye, which will cause rough seas.
He said that from the November 9 night to November 12, heavy rains of 200-400 mm will affect localities from Quang Tri to the northern part of Khanh Hoa province. Rainfall of some 100-200mm may be seen in Quang Binh and the southern part of Khanh Hoa, he added.
Khiem predicted that the low pressure would become the 13th storm to hit the East Sea late on November 11 or early on November 12, and then striking the central region on November 14.
According to Senior Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Dinh Hung, deputy head of the Search and Rescue Office under the Staff of the Border Guard High Command, as of 6 am on November 9, the border guard force had alerted and provided guidance to 59,752 vessels with 289,000 crewmembers.
Central localities have prepared plans to evacuate 403,000 people from at-risk areas.
The south-central province of Phu Yen shut all seaports from 10 am on November 9, while Khanh Hoa did likewise at 6 pm on the same day./.
VNA
