Typhoon Wutip is moving rapidly towards Vietnam’s central region. It
is forecast to make landfall in the coastal provinces of Ha Tinh and
Thua Thien-Hue by 4pm on September 30.
According to
the National Centre for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting, the typhoon,
which is packing winds of between 118 and 149 km per hour, will travel
west to north-west at a speed of 20 km per hour over the next 12 hours.
By 4pm on September 30, the typhoon will be 17.3
degrees latitude north and 106.7 degrees longitude east of Ha Tinh and
Quang Tri provinces with sustained winds of 75 to 102 km per hour.
In the next 12-24 hours, it is expected to become a low tropical pressure system after sweeping inland.
The typhoon, the tenth to hit Vietnam this year, caused rough seas east of Hoang Sa (Spratly) archipelago.
Heavy rain and rising sea levels will be seen in the central coastal provinces from Nghe An to Da Nang city.
Local authorities in Quang Nam, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Da Nang
have been urged to take drastic measures to cope with the typhoon.
On the morning of September 30, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai
and other government officials made an inspection tour of Quang Tri and
Thua Thien-Hue provinces.
The Deputy PM asked the
provincial and district authorities to evacuate local residents from the
danger zones and ban fishermen from operating at sea.
He also requested they remain prepared for search and rescue operations if necessary.
According to Quang Tri’s local government, by noon on September 30,
2,614 fishing vessels were called to find refuge and 8,392 people living
in coastal areas moved to safer places.
The local
government prepared food, water and other necessities worth more than 37
billion VND and sent working teams to localities forecast to be hardest
hit by the disaster.
Thua Thien-Hue province
evacuated more than 11,560 residents and prepared 100 tonnes of rice and
230,000 litres of petrol in response to the disaster. It has
intensified the monitoring of the operation of hydropower stations in
order to control possible flooding.
The same day,
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat led a
delegation from the Central Steering Committee for Flood and Storm
Prevention and Control to inspect Ha Tinh province’s preparedness for
typhoon Wutip.
In Quang Binh province, one of the
localities forecast to be seriously hit by the typhoon, more than 1,000
households have been moved to safer places and 370 ships have taken
shelter.
Quang Binh has more than 41,000 people living in coastal and low-lying areas at high risk of flooding.
On the day, 4,002 fishing vessels of Nghe An province with 23,128 crew aboard have found shelter.
To ensure the safety of school and university students in the Central
Highlands and centre regions, the Minister of Education and Training
has asked local departments to adjust school timetables and suspend
extra activities.-VNA