The information was announced by Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung, Head of the National Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Management, at an urgent meeting of the committee on Wednesday (Sep 16). The gathering discussed emergency measures to cope with Storm Noul which is rapidly approaching Vietnam.
As of 1pm this afternoon, Noul – the fifth storm to hit Vietnam in 2020, was 680 kilometres to the southeast of Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) Islands, with winds of 60-75 kilometres per hour near its centre.
In the next 48 to 72 hours, on September 18 and 19, the storm will get stronger before making landfall in localities from Quang Binh to Da Nang, packing winds of 110-135 kilometres per hour near its centre.
A report from the Border Guard at the meeting showed that as of 10 am this morning, 58,345 vessels and 285,384 people operating on the sea have been informed of the developments and direction of Storm Noul to proactively avoid or escape the danger areas within its reach.
In the face of the complicated developments of the strong typhoon, Deputy PM Dung requested the committee and relevant authorities and localities at risk of damage continue to closely monitor its developments and promptly carry out response plans to ensure the lives and property of local people.
The projected path of Storm Noul. (Photo: NCHMF)
As Noul is an extremely strong storm and is expected to make landfall at the same time as high tide, local authorities need to be prepared for active evacuation, while preparing necessary forces and means to implement plans to ensure the safety of people in dangerous areas, Deputy PM Dung requested.
He also stressed the need for reinforcing dykes, especially sea dykes, and developing specific plans to protect buildings, tourist resorts, economic zones, industrial parks, factories, warehouses, works under construction and mineral exploitation areas.
For mountainous regions, the senior government official also requested local authorities to review areas with a high risk of flooding, flash floods and landslides during heavy rains to proactively evacuate and relocate the local population out of danger areas, as well as ensuring the safe and efficient operation of irrigation and hydroelectric reservoirs, while implementing measures to ensure the safety of dams and reservoirs, especially those that are critical or full of water.
Dung also assigned specific tasks to the concerned ministries and central agencies in coordination with localities to get ready to respond to the typhoon when it hits the mainland, asking for adequate information on the storm’s developments and that the flood forecast be provided to local people and relevant agencies to serve response work.
