On October 27, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc signed a decision to establish a forward Steering Committee stationed at Da Nang city to direct the response measures against Molave, the ninth of this year and the fourth within a month.
The newly-established committee’s head is Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung, who is also the head of the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Response cum chairman of the National Committee for Incident Response and Search and Rescue.
Dung’s deputy is Nguyen Xuan Cuong, who is also deputy head of the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Response cum minister for Agriculture and Rural Development. The committee also include representatives from the relevant ministries and agencies.
The frontline Steering Committee is directly responsible for directing, inspecting and urging all branches and localities to effectively respond to Storm Molave in order to minimise damage, regularly update the situation and report to the PM.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall assume prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the People's Committee of Da Nang city and relevant ministries in preparing logistics and arranging equipment and the means and communication to ensure operation of the Forward Steering Committee in all situations.
This morning, two working groups from the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Response, led by Deputy PM Dung and Minister Cuong respectively, went into the field to direct the implementation of response measures against Typhoon Molave in central localities from Binh Dinh to Da Nang.
A report from the Standing Office of the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Response this morning showed that provinces from Thua Thien Hue to Phu Yen have prepared for the evacuation of 146,866 households consisting of a total of 571,746 people before the storm hits the region later today.
Provinces from Thua Thien Hue to Binh Dinh have ordered a sea ban and decided to let local students stay home from schools from today.
Around 45,009 ships with 229,290 employees operating at sea have been informed to move to safe shelters against the circulation of Molave.
The concerned ministries, agencies and localities have issued urgent telegraphs, urging immediate measures to cope with the storm, forecast to bring strong winds and torrential downpours across the central localities in the next few days.
Locals in Binh Dong commune, Binh Son district, Quang Ngai province make sand bags to reinforce their houses against the approaching Storm Molave. (Photo: NDO/Hien Cu)
Many domestic flights have been delayed or cancelled as Storm Molave approaches, with national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines having adjusted schedules of flights to and from Hue, Da Nang, Quang Nam, Tuy Hoa, Gia Lai, Buon Me Thuot, Quy Nhon, Da Lat and Khanh Hoa on October 27.
Meanwhile, Bamboo Airways said it has cancelled Flight QH17 from Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang, and suspended all of the flights to the central city as from 7pm on October 27 until further notice. Many flights to and from Da Nang have also been rescheduled by the carrier.
Flights between Hanoi and Da Nang city initially scheduled for October 27 by Vietjet Air have been cancelled, and those between HCM City and Dong Hoi city in Quang Binh province and Hue city in Thua Thien Hue province have been rescheduled.
The Vietnam Railway Corporation has also announced its plan to suspend some of the transnational Thong Nhat train routes and adjust several other routes running through the central region amid the storm circulation from the evening of October 27 in order to ensure the safety of passengers.
On the same day, the Ministry of Transport said that Minister Nguyen Van The has issued a letter calling on transport sector staff to make donations and join hands to overcome the damage caused by floods in the central region.
Earlier, during a working trip to Quang Tri and Thua Thien Hue on the afternoon of October 22, Minister The awarded VND200 million to each locality to help ease some of the difficulties for flood victims there. The ministry has decided to spend VND350 billion to repair the transport infrastructure system, especially National Highway No. 1, which has been seriously affected by the current flood.
This morning, Phu Yen province launched a fundraising campaign to support flood victims in the central region. Nearly 100 units and businesses in Phu Yen donated VND2.2 billion that will be sent to the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front to support central localities damaged by natural disasters.
Previously, local businesses, charity organisations and individuals in Phu Yen have donated tens of tonnes of goods and given them directly to local people in Ha Tinh, Thua Thien Hue, Quang Tri, and Quang Binh provinces.
Location and movement of Typhoon Molave. (Photo: nchmf.gov.vn)
As of 4 pm on October 27, Storm Molave’s eye was some 360 km from Phu Yen province, with the strongest winds reaching 150-165 kph.
It is expected that by 4 pm on October 28, the storm’s eye will be right on the mainland from central provinces from Quang Nam to Binh Dinh.
Torrential downpours with rainfall up to 700 mm will blanket the central localities from October 27-29. Inundation is forecast for lagoons and low-lying areas from Thua Thien Hue to Quang Ngai province.
