HCM City is among the places Storm No.9 is forecast to hit. — Photo courtesy of the National Centre for Hydro Meteorological Forecasting. |
HCM CITY — HCM City is bracing for Storm No.9, known internationally as Typhoon Usagi.
Lê Đình Quyết, deputy director of the Southern Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting’s Forecast Department, said the storm was 320km away from HCM City as of Saturday morning.
“HCM City is within the storm’s reach.”
He added that heavy rains of 200 – 250mm would occur in the city on Saturday evening, resulting in huge flooding.
The storm is forecast to move westward at 10 – 15km per hour, bringing heavy rains along the south-central and south-eastern regions, before weakening into a tropical depression in the next 12-24 hours.
The HCM City People’s Committee has ordered all schools to close at noon on Saturday and cancel all outdoor extracurricular activities until the storm blows over.
Schools are responsible for ensuring children’s safety and protecting their facilities.
In Cần Giờ District, some 4,100 people from Thạnh An Island, Cần Thạnh town and Long Hoà, An Thới Đông, Lý Nhơn, Tam Thôn Hiệp, and Bình Khánh communes have been moved to safer places.
They have been provided with medicines, food and water, according to relevant authorities.
More than 1,000 police officers and officials in Cần Giờ are standing by to assist the public.
HCM City has banned activities at sea until the storm passes. — VNS