At 04.00am on November 6, the depression was positioned at 410km off the coast from Khanh Hoa to Ba Ria Vung Tau provinces, moving at a speed of 25-30kph.
It is forecast to regain strength and become the 13th storm of its kind to strike Vietnam this year. The storm is likely to make landfall in south-central and southern provinces in the next 12-24 hours.
In an urgent dispatch on November 5, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung asked coastal provinces from Khanh Hoa to Ba Ria-Vung Tau to keep a close watch on fishing vessels operating in the region, including banning them from going offshore.
He ordered them to safeguard aquatic farms, trim trees, reinforce public works and people’s houses, and evacuate local people to safe grounds before 01.00pm on November 6.
The PM asked the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) to protect sea dykes, dams, reservoirs, and power transmission systems and stockpile necessities, especially in the areas possibly cut off by floods.
At an urgent meeting on November 5, the Fisheries Directory said fishing vessels are currently busy with tuna and tiger shrimp harvests, and many of them are not equipped with communication devices.
The storm could cause huge human and property losses unless no preventative measures are taken, it warned.
MARD Minister Cao Duc Phat proposed relevant agencies seek to contact and provide prompt support to fishermen if required.
Experts raised concerns about damage the upcoming storm might cause to the south-central and southern regions where houses are not built as firmly as those in central and northern provinces.
Local people are inexperienced in storm prevention as their regions are rarely hit by tropical storms. In addition, severe flooding will probably inundate HCM City and adjacent areas when the storm makes landfall in the evening, coinciding tidal surges during the monsoon season in the south.
Tien Giang province’s Tan Phu Dong district said they plan to evacuate more than 10,000 local residents to safe areas before 01.00pm on November 6. Assembly points will be schools, hospitals and State agencies.
Meanwhile, another powerful storm Haiyan is forecast to enter the East Sea in a couple of day, becoming the 14th storm to hit the area this year.
At 07.00am on November 6, Haiyan was packing winds of up to 149kph near its centre and is expected to strengthen further.
