Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has called on ministries and agencies concerned to do all they can to minimise human and material losses as Haiyan, the most powerful super-typhoon of the past 10 years, is forecast to bear down on the central region in the next few days.

PM Dung made the call at a teleconference in Hanoi on November 8.

On November 7, he issued a notice requesting ministries and agencies to fully prepare for the huge storm.

The People’s Committees of coastal cities and provinces were asked to urgently call in vessels in danger zones to come ashore or take refuge.

Central localities, from Thanh Hoa to Binh Dinh, must instruct vessels to travel to areas of safety while devising plans to evacuate locals in and around areas prone to flooding and landslides.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is responsible for inspecting and protecting dykes, dams and other irrigational works.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry sent a diplomatic note to the Embassies of China, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia in Vietnam and the Vietnamese Embassies abroad, asking for all possible support in case of emergency.

In the next 24 hours, Haiyan will move between west and west-northwest at a speed of about 35 kilometres per hour (kph).

It will move west-northwest with sustained winds of 150-183 kph in the next 48-72 hours.

Super typhoon Haiyan claimed at least three lives as it smashed into Samar island, about 600km northeast to the capital city of Manila, the Philippines on November 8.-VNA