Central, southern localities brace for Typhoon Usagi

The central coastal province of Khanh Hoa has evacuated more than 2,840 households with over 12,000 people to safer places, and encouraged 2,210 farmers at aquaculture breeding cages at sea to move inland. Over 340 fishing boats have also been instructed to seek shelters.

On November 24, authorities of the central coastal province of Phu Yen also encouraged local residents to move to safe places.

Vo Ngoc Kha, Chairman of the Tuy Hoa city People’s Committee, said Long Thuy village in An Phu commune, the Bach Dang residential area in ward 6, Ro hamlet in Phu Dong ward and Binh Ngoc commune in the city would be affected by flood tides and torrential rains.

Soldiers, policemen and militiamen in the locality are working round the clock to cope with the storm, said the official.

Other localities such as Binh Thuan and Long An provinces have also completed preparations for the storm, the ninth to hit the East Sea for far this year.

Meanwhile, the steering board for disaster prevention, and search and rescue of Ho Chi Minh City instructed all ferries in the locality to suspend operation as from 7pm on November 24 in anticipation of the storm.

The municipal Health Department has also asked all hospitals in the city to stand ready for any emergency.

As of November 24 morning, about 1,000 offshore fishing boats in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang had been asked to sail out of dangerous areas and keep contact with inland competent agencies.

At 7pm on November 24, the typhoon’s centre was at 9.8 degrees north latitude and 108.2 degrees east longitude, about 140 km of the coast of the southern province of Ba Ria - Vung Tau. The storm's strongest winds were at a speed of 75-90 km per hour, according to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

The typhoon will cause torrential rains for south-central and south-east provinces, it added. Localities stretching from Thua Thien - Hue to Binh Thuan provinces and in the southern Central Highlands region might suffer downpour with rainfall up to 300-500mm.