HÀ NỘI – A super typhoon, named Meranti, has been formed off the northwestern Pacific Ocean, near the East Sea, according to the National Hydro-meteorological Forecast Centre.

The eye of the storm was at 19.8 degrees north latitude and 120.0 degrees east longitude, some 350km northeast of the Luzon Island of the Philippines at 10am this morning.

Meranti, currently equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane, reached super typhoon status on Monday. A super typhoon is classified when sustained wind speeds hit at least 240kph.

The storm is forecast to move northwest at a speed of 20km in the next 24 hours. It is expected to be centred offshore the northeast of the East Sea tomorrow and to be off the coast of southeast China’s Guangdong province on Thursday. The strongest wind force near the storm centre was grade 15 (165-186kph).

The Central Steering Committee for Disaster Prevention and Control and the National Steering Committee for Search and Rescue have sent urgent messages to authorities of the coastal localities from Quảng Ninh to Hà Tĩnh provinces and relevant ministries and agencies to undertake measures to deal with the typhoon.

They have been told to keep a close watch over the development of the typhoon, strictly manage the operation of vessels, keep regular contact with owners of vessels operating offshore to be able to deal with emerging issues in a timely manner and regularly inform ship owners of the development of the typhoon to help them actively perform proper preventive measures.

Local authorities were instructed to be well prepared in terms of human resources, equipment and vehicles for search and rescue operations, if necessary

Storm Rai’s damage

Meanwhile, the season’s fourth storm, Rai, weakened into a tropical low pressure system after making landfall in central coastal localities from Quảng Nam to Quảng Ngãi provinces and bringing heavy rain and wind speeds of 62-74km/h. 

Gusts of 75-102km/h were reported at sea early Tuesday morning, according to the National Hydro-meteorological Forecast Centre.

Up to 4am Tuesday morning, the storm had reportedly left one person missing and sunk three fishing boats.

The missing man was onboard a fishing boat from Quảng Bình Province that was travelling 38 nautical miles away from Đốc Cape.

One of the sunk boats was from Thừa Thiên-Huế Province and the other two were from Quảng Ngãi Province.

Vietnam Airlines (VNA) and Vietjet Air have cancelled several flights to the central region because of the storm.

Due to the tropical low pressure system, torrential rainfall measuring 50-150mm hit the central provinces from Nghệ An to Thừa Thiên-Huế.

The centre has warned the mountainous localities of possible flash floods and landslides.

The storm affected the preparations of the fifth Asian Beach Games (ABG5) as stands, a pavilion and playing areas had to be dismantled on Monday.

The organising committee of ABG5 immediately continued their preparations as soon as the storm moved deeper inland between Đà Nẵng and Quảng Ngãi Province around 8am Tuesday.

The opening ceremony of ABG5 will be on September 24th and the games will last until October 3rd.

High 3-4m waves were recorded off the coast of Lý Sơn Island in Quảng Ngãi Province, Chàm Island in Quảng Nam and Lăng Cô in Thừa Thiên-Huế around 8am Tuesday.

The Centre of Flood and Storm Prevention in the Central and Central Highlands regions warned that floods would occur near river banks from Thừa Thiên-Huế to Bình Định and north of the Central Highlands region.

The centre said the water levels of some rivers rose sharply early yesterday morning as the storm lashed the central region.

Water levels in both the Vu Gia and Thu Bồn rivers in Quảng Nam Province were up from 3.98m on Monday to 7m, while Trà Khúc River in Quảng Ngãi Province rose from 2.3m to 5m Tuesday morning.

Rainfall of between 191-237mm has been measured over the last three days in Đà Nẵng, Quảng Nam, Quảng Ngãi and Bình Định, and serious erosion and landslides are likely on river banks and in mountainous areas.

Twelve fishermen from two stranded fishing ships from Quảng Ngãi and Khánh Hòa provinces were safely rescued off Cửa Đại beach and off the Island of Trường Sa (Spratly).

The water levels of 55 reservoirs in the Central and Central Highland regions are still safe, according to the centre. – VNS