HÀ NỘI — Typhoon Barijat, the fifth tropical storm to hit the East Sea this year, weakened into a tropical low-pressure system today afternoon but was still predicted to bring heavy rain to northern regions.

The rain, with average rainfall of 70mm, is predicted to last until the end of Friday.

The tropical low-pressure system was expected to make landfall on the coast of Quảng Ninh–Hải Phòng at about 1am on Friday.

The National Centre for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting said at 4pm today, the eye of the tropical low-pressure system was 150km to the east of Quảng Ninh Province’s Móng Cái City with strongest wind speeds of up to 40km per hour.

The tropical low-pressure system was moving west-southwest at 15-20km per hour.

Additionally, the tropical low-pressure system caused rough seas with waves of 1.5-2 metres in height in the northern part of the Bắc Bộ (Tonkin) Gulf as of today afternoon.

In a related development, a super typhoon, internationally named Mangkhut, reportedly appeared near the East Sea, with wind speeds of up to 220km per hour, is forecast to directly affect northern and north-central provinces between next Monday and Wednesday.

Torrential rain triggered by the typhoon is predicted to blanket the provinces.

The centre said the typhoon will be 280km to the southeast of the Philippines’ Luzon Island at 4pm on Friday.

Preparation

The Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control today morning held a meeting to direct all relevant agencies and localities to prepare for both the tropical low-pressure system and super typhoon Mangkhut.

The meeting was chaired by director general of the committee’s Việt Nam Disaster Management Authority.

Statistics from the Border Guard Command showed that over 44,600 offshore fishing vessels, in areas from Quảng Ninh to Bình Định, were informed about the tropical low-pressure system and super typhoon Mangkhut.

A representative of the Directorate of Water Resources under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said about 80 per cent of reservoirs in the north are nearly full.

Thus, Trần Quang Hoài, director general of the General Department of Disaster Prevention, ordered all relevant agencies to take measures to reduce water levels in the reservoirs and ensure safety for residents if torrential rains hit.

According to the ministry’s Department of Crop Production, crops in northern provinces are near harvest time. If torrential rains hit, they could be seriously damaged.

Then Hoài tasked localities to make plans to minimise damage for crops.

He also required all rescue forces to prepare for emergencies.

Officials in north-eastern Quảng Ninh Province today banned all vessels from going to sea from 6am after receiving news that the tropical low-pressure system would make landfall on the coast early Friday.

All cruise vessels were also prohibited from staying overnight in Hạ Long Bay, the authorities said.

In the northern province of Nam Định, authorities informed all offshore fishing vessels about the developments of the tropical low-pressure system so that they could make active preparations.

They also made plans to evacuate people in areas at high risk of landslides and flash floods to safe places. Relevant agencies set up teams to re-check reservoirs and dykes to ensure safety in case of torrential rain.

High capacity pumps were ready for deployment on local rice fields if torrential rains occurred. — VNS