Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai yesterday urged all relevant cities and provinces to ask their local ships to moor at shelters in face of the ongoing Chanthu Storm.
Hai, at an urgent meeting of the National Flood and Storm Steering Committee, told all the localities, ministries and departments not to be subjective to the storm, which was forecast to land in China, as the rains after the storm hit would be very heavy.
He asked authorities in the northern mountainous provinces to prepare to cope with landslides and flash floods.
According to Le Thanh Hai, deputy director of the National Hydro-Meteorological Forecast Centre, the storm is very erratic and has changed direction many times.
| Flood warning for Hanoi Late yesterday afternoon, the National Flood and Storm Steering Committee also forecast heavy rains and possible floods for the capital city. They asked Hanoians and those living in the northern delta to be on high alert. |
Hai said the storm\'s eye would be 230km from China\'s Hainan Island, with wind gusts reaching up to 117kph and with a dangerous wind gust area spread over 250km.
The deputy director forecast that Chanthu would reach Chinese Leizhou Peninsula and be 240km from Mong Cai District in Quang Ninh Province before decreasing in strength into a tropical pressure zone somewhere in the area near the two countries\' border.
Under the storm\'s influence, the northern coastal province of Quang Ninhand other northern provinces and cities would have winds near levels seven and eight.
According to the committee, two ships with 27 fishermen in the Hoang Sa (Paracel) Archipelago had been out of contact since July 19. In the coastal area of Quang Ninh Province, more than 1,200 ships with 3,700 fishermen were still near the shore fishing. Local authorities had already sent out warning to 2,700 fishermen regarding the dangerous storm.
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung yesterday sent an urgent message to all coastal cities and provinces from Quang Ninh to Quang Ngai, as well as the northern mountainous and midland provinces, telling them to prepare their best resources to deal with the storm.
These provinces should evacuate their residents to prevent possible isolation and landslides. Quang Ninh Province should also protect its tourism ships and coal mines.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade should ask the Electricity of Vietnam to manage its large hydro-electric reservoirs in Hoa Binh, Son La, Tuyen Quang and Thac Ba, which could receive large amounts of water.
Hai also asked for better weather forecasts so that the people would trust them more and not ignore the warnings.
He said that 17 fishermen were still missing from the recent Conson Storm due to their ignorance of local warnings three days before it hit their areas.
