Forecast track of Storm Saudel (Source: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – The National Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Control has alerted coastal localities and relevant ministries and agencies about a new storm which is moving towards the East Sea, especially when the central region is still struggling with large-scale flooding.
The new storm, named Saudel, is moving west-northwest at 20-25 km per hour and forecast to enter the East Sea on October 21 while gaining strength. By 13:00 on October 21, the storm’s eye will be around 650km to the east-southeast of Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago, packing wind of 70-90km per hour with gusts of up to 110km per hour.
In a dispatch issued on October 20, the steering committee required localities to closely follow the movement of Saudel and quickly inform vessels operating at sea about the approaching storm so that they can steer clear of the dangerous zones at sea.
Storm Saudel poses a big threat to Vietnam’s central provinces which have already been devastated by historic floods triggered by 30-year record rainfall of up to 3,000 mm in the past 10 days.
The flooding has isolated many communities and affected the lives of more than 135,000 households.
The disaster claimed 102 lives and left 25 missing as of 5pm on October 19; destroyed 12 highways and 17.4 km of local roads; damaged 924 ha of rice and 106,616 ha of other crops; and killed or washed away more than half a million heads of cattle and poultry./.
VNA
