Central, southern localities asked to prepare for floods and landslides caused by typhoon Usagi

Vietnamese central and southern coastal localities have been instructed to take urgent measures to brace for Typhoon Usagi – the ninth storm to hit the East Sea this year said to be heading to the south central region.

An overview of meeting on Typhoon Usagi response. (Source: VNA)

Usagi is forecast to make landfall in the night of November 24 or the morning of November 25, Tran Quang Hoai, standing member of the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control and head of the Vietnam Disaster Management Authority, said at a meeting on storm response in Hanoi on November 23.

Hoai urged localities likely to be affected by the storm to pay attention to areas vulnerable to landslides and prepare to address incidents related to sea dykes in order to ensure safety for locals.

Based on forecasts, localities should put in place plans to evacuate people from dangerous areas and coastal areas before 12:00 of November 24 and ban fishing activities if necessary, he suggested, adding that the Steering Committee and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will send working groups to check on storm response and measures to ensure the safe and effective operation of reservoirs in localities during the day.

The National Committee for Disaster Response and Search and Rescue must get ready for search and rescue missions when needed, he affirmed.

According to Sen. Lt. Col. Nguyen Dinh Hung, deputy head of the Search and Rescue Division under the Border Guard High Command, as of 6:00 am of November 23, information about the storm and guidance were provided for 64,137 ships with 330,712 people on board, so that they are moving to safer areas.

At 4:00 am, the typhoon’s centre was at 10.9 degrees north latitude and 113.8 degrees east longitude, about 450 km east of the coast of the south central and southern provinces from Ninh Thuan to Ba Ria – Vung Tau. The storm's strongest winds were at a speed of 60 – 75 km per hour, according to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

In the next 24 hours, it is forecast to move west at 10 - 15 km per hour and may gain more strength. The storm with sustained wind speeds at 75 – 100 km per hour will be about 230 km east of the coast of provinces from Ninh Thuan to Ba Ria – Vung Tau.

At 4:00 am of November 25, the storm will continue moving west at 10 – 15 km per hour and make landfall in the area between coastal provinces in south central and east southern regions. It is then weakened to a tropical depression, the centre said.

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./.

VNF/VNA