HÀ NỘI — A new typhoon named Haikui is building in the East Sea (South China Sea) on Friday morning, as Việt Nam struggles to rebuild the country after the damages caused by devastating Typhoon Damrey.

Typhoon Haikui is expected to head west-northwest over the next 24 hours, with the strongest winds ranging between 75-90 km per hour, according to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

The centre also warned that the typhoon is likely to grow stronger over the next 48 hours.

Relief work on-going

As a new typhoon approaches the south, villages already hit by Typhoon Damrey at the weekend are in need of 31,700 tonnes of rice and moe than 100,000 litres of disinfectant. The deadliest storm to hit Việt Nam this year reportedly killed 91 people and left 23 others missing in the central and south-central regions.

The list of  victims continues to rise five days after the storm struck, according to the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control.

The centre said torrential rains, strong winds and landslides triggered by the typhoon destroyed more than 120,000 houses, more than 25,000ha of crops, and blocked dozens of roads. It has also filled many reservoirs in the region.

The affected localities are mobilising all sources to help residents resume normal lives.

In the short term, the committee asked Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc to approve 3,400 tonnes of rice to localities in Quảng Trị, Thừa Thiên – Huế, Quảng Nam, Quảng Ngãi, Bình Định, Phú Yên, Khánh Hòa and Đắk Lắk.

It also suggested the State Bank of Việt Nam extend repayment periods for farmers in debt and allow them to borrow more to recover production.

New storm: The direction of a new tropical low-pressure system. — Photo nchmf.gov.vn

Deputy Prime Minister Trịnh Đình Dũng on Thursday chaired an online meeting to direct localities to quickly remedy the damage.

Dũng ordered the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to send a report of demands to the Government so that it could quickly approve and provide rice and other basic necessitiess.

Additionally, rescue forces were told to work harder in searching for missing people, he said.

Dũng asked the Ministry of National Defence to dispatch more soldiers to the localities to help residents repair houses and roads.

He also asked the Ministry of Health to send chemicals to disinfect and prevent diseases.

The Ministry of Transport was required to draw money from its budget to fix landslides, including many sections of the Hồ Chí Minh Road, he added.

By 12am on Thursday, sections of National Highway No 1 and the North-South Railway, damaged by landslides and inundation over the past few days, were re-opened.

The Việt Nam Fatherland Front on Thursday donated VNĐ6.5 billion (US$286,000) to the affected localities.

Minister of Health Nguyễn Thị Kim Tiến on Thursday visited Phú Yên Province to check on how the province is dealing with the consequences. Tiến already agreed to supply one million pills of chloramine B and 500 litres of chemicals to disinfect and prevent disease in the province. — VNS