KHÁNH HOÀ — At 9pm yesterday, the centre of the typhoon Damrey - 12th storm in the East Sea this year – was 220km east of the Phú Yên – Khánh Hoà – Ninh Thuận coast.

Strong gusts near its centre reached level 12, or 115-135km/h, with the storm on a westbound course towards Việt Nam at the speed of 15-20km/h. The typhoon is expected to make landfall this morning between southern Phú Yên Province and northern Bình Thuận Province.

Thừa Thiên – Huế Province, together with five south central provinces of Bình Định, Phú Yên, Khánh Hoà, Ninh Thuận, and Bình Thuận, have imposed a ‘sea traffic ban’ – with ships not allowed to sail and ships already at sea ordered to return to land or to seek shelter.

More than 426,000 people in high areas of provinces forecasted to be hit by the typhoon could be evacuated. Khánh Hoà Province has already relocated nearly 6,000 people out of the planned 33,380 in the worst case scenario – the most out of all provinces expected to carry out evacuation, followed by Phú Yên Province with 85,000 people set to be relocated.

In Khánh Hoà Province, 4,300 tourists – 2,220 of which are foreign – remained stranded on islands because ships and boats due to the sea-traffic ban.

From 6pm yesterday, the south central provinces of Quảng Ngãi and Bình Định experienced heavy rainfall of 20-30mm, resulting in elevated risks of landslides and flash floods.

No people left on the sea

Last afternoon, Deputy Prime Minister Trịnh Đình Dũng arrived in the south central province of Phú Yên to inspect the province’s preparedness for Typhoon Damrey.

Working with Phú Yên leaders, Dũng asked the province to monitor fishing vessels operating at sea and aquaculture farms, and to “not leave any ship, including foreign ones, or any people on Việt Nam’s seas.”

The Deputy PM urged Phú Yên to focus on ensuring safety for public works, while keeping a close eye on dams and lakes.

He inspected the 1.1km anti-erosion dam in Rớ village outside of the Tuy Hoà City which is already facing structural damages from erosion.

Later in the day, Deputy PM Dũng came to Nha Trang City of Khánh Hoà Province where the typhoon is expected to make landfall to hold an online conference with provincial leaders to direct the response to the typhoon.

The Deputy PM asked for cancellation of any flights that might enter the area during the typhoon, ensuring traffic flow on national highways, and to quickly storm-proof houses in the affected areas.

The National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting and news agencies were ordered to provide frequent news on the typhoon’s latest developments. — VNS