Authorities in central Thua Thien Hue Province directed local fishing vessels on the East Sea and aquaculture families on Tam Giang lagoon to take shelter on land before the year's 12th storm hit. A total of 1,700 boats and 6,100 fishing and aquaculture workers followed the instructions.
The authorities also issued a strict ban on going offshore in the following days and ordered staff in the local centre for storm and flood prevention and rescue to closely monitor the movements of the storm.
Rescue staff and border guards were asked to evacuate families in the coastal areas of Hai Duong and Thuan An where there was high risk of erosion if the storm headed to the province.
In the city, those in charge of buildings undergoing construction were requested to take safety measures. Urban tree management teams were deployed to cut branches from old trees around the city.
The authorities also demanded that water be released from electricity reservoirs,both for safety reasons before the storm and to prevent flash floods after the storm hit.
Around 74,400 fishing vessels in coastal localities have been informed about the storm's movements.
In the meantime, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development and Head of the Central Committee for Flood and Storm Control Cao Duc Phat sent an urgent message to coastal provinces and cities from Thanh Hoa to Khanh Hoa yesterday.
In the message, he ordered the provinces and cities to inform offshore fishing vessels to avoid dangerous zones and find safe anchorage, especially fishing vessels near the southeastern part of Hoang Sa (Paracel) Archipelago.
Phat also required rescue forces and facilities to prepare for storm-related emergencies.
Speaking at a meeting yesterday, Director of the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting Bui Minh Tang said the storm had weakened and changed direction.
It was now heading towards central coastal provinces from Thua Thien Hue to Binh Dinh, he said.
Tang also said that when the storm went inland, torrential rain up to 300mm would cover central, central highlands and southern provinces.
By 7pm yesterday, the eye of the storm was about 440km northeast of Hoang Sa (Paracel) Archipelago with wind speeds ranging from 75-102 km per hour.
The storm was moving west at 25 km per hour, causing rough waters in the northern part of the East Sea as well as the sea from Quang Binh to Quang Ngai.
