HÀ NỘI — Typhoon Bolaven, with the strongest wind speed of 75km per hour near its eye, entered the East Sea on Wednesday morning and becomes the first tropical storm to hit the East Sea this year.

The National Centre for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting warned that the typhoon was moving west-northwest at 25km per hour.

The centre predicted that by 10am on Thursday, the typhoon would be 190km to the east of Ninh Thuận and Bình Thuận provinces’ coastal areas. Some 12 hours later, the typhoon was forecast to weaken as a tropical low-pressure system.

The typhoon would make the sea rough in the central part of the East Sea, including the northern part of Trường Sa (Spratly) Archipelago from Thursday, the centre said.

In response to the situation, the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control organised an urgent meeting on Wednesday morning to direct relevant agencies and localities to prepare for the typhoon.

Speaking at the meeting, Trần Quang Hoài, head of the committee’s Việt Nam Disaster Management Authority, said the typhoon was believed to be developing quickly, therefore, agencies must quickly take actions to cope with the situation.

“No one is allowed to underestimate the typhoon,” he said.

He ordered the localities that could be affected by the typhoon to re-check their dyke systems and reservoirs to ensure safety.

Local administrations of the localities have been told to inform offshore vessels about the typhoon’s developments so that they can find safe anchorage, he said.

Rescue forces have been asked to be ready for emergencies, he said.

Data from the committee showed that by Wednesday morning, some 47,190 vessels, passing through coastal localities from Đà Nẵng to Kiên Giang, were notified about the typhoon and the areas prone to danger.

In Bình Thuận Province, the local administration banned all vessels from sailing to the sea since 10am on Wednesday morning.

Nguyễn Ngọc Hai, chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, said the committee has sent supporting forces to help residents reinforce their houses and made plans to evacuate people in dangerous areas to safe places. — VNS