The northern port city of Hai Phong has urged ship owners to
promptly return to land as soon as possible as Storm Utor is
approaching, causing rough seas in the northern region of the East
Sea.
However, more than 1,100 vessels were still
operating at sea by 7am on August 13, while an estimated 1,800 ships
had landed safely.
The city’s steering board for
flood and storm control and search and rescue has asked local
authorities and sectors to keep a close watch on the developments of the
storm, which is reported to be very strong, moving fast and
unpredictably.
They are urged to make every effort
to inform ship owners at sea of the storm’s progress, as well as inspect
important dyke systems and take preventative measures.
Storm Utor, the seventh hitting the East Sea this year, was seen 450km
to the east-northeast of Vietnam’s Hoang Sa archipelago by 4am of
August 13, with winds of up to 149km per hour.
In
the next 24 hours, it is forecast to move between west and northwest at a
speed of 15-20km per hour, gaining strength on its way.-VNA