Localities demanded to promptly brace for storm Mulan

Hanoi (VNA) – Localities from the northern to the northern central regions have been requested to gear up personnel and equipment for Storm Mulan, which is predicted to enter the Gulf of Tonkin on late August 10.

The Standing Office of the National Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control held a meeting with ministries, sectors, and localities on August 10 to discuss measures to respond to the storm.

Nguyen Van Tien, Deputy General Director of the Vietnam Disaster Management Authority and deputy chief of the committee’s office, said as Storm Mulan was forecast to cause heavy rains in many areas, therefore ministries, sectors, and localities need to seriously carry out the official dispatch issued by the committee on August 9.

They need to monitor vessels working at sea, keep frequent contact with vessel owners to deal with any circumstance in a timely manner, guide them to seek shelter, and ready personnel and equipment for search and rescue when necessary.

Localities were told to ensure safety for people and assets on islands and aquaculture zones, transportation vessels, as well as tourism and construction activities at sea and coastal areas.

Basing on the storm’s developments, they can also impose a ban on activities at sea.

Col. Nguyen Dinh Hung, head of the search division at the Border Guard High Command, said as of 6:30am on August 10, authorities had guided 52,249 vessels with 228,960 people to move out of dangerous areas and seek shelter. They had also tugged three vessels in distress to safe places.

The northeastern coastal province of Quang Ninh has also been taking prompt actions to cope with Storm Mulan.

It has banned vessels from operating at sea since the noon of August 10 and is striving to complete all necessary tasks by 5pm on the day.

Storm Mulan, the second to appear in the East Sea this year, is heading towards the northern coast. It is forecast to move west - northwest at about 15 - 20km per hour between 4pm on August 10 and 4am on August 11, when its centre will be at around 21 degrees North and 108.4 degrees East, on the northern waters of the Gulf of Tonkin, about 80km to the southeast of Quang Ninh’s Mong Cai city. Wind speeds near the storm eye may reach up to 62 - 74km per hour.

Under the storm’s impact, from August 10 evening to August 12, northern localities along with Thanh Hoa and Nghe An provinces in the northern central region are predicted to experience downpours with rainfall of 100 - 200mm, even over 250mm.

Flash floods and landslides are likely to occur in mountainous areas while floods in low-lying areas, according to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting./.