Boats dock at a safe area in Hòa Vang District, central Thừa Thiên-Huế Province on Thursday. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI Typhoon Nakri, the sixth tropical storm forecast to hit Việt Nam this year, is likely to bring heavy rain to central and south-central regions.

It was forecast to make landfall in Việt Nam on Thursday night or early Friday morning. Its course would depend on the movement of Super Typhoon Halong in the Pacific Ocean, according to the National Centre for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting.

At 1pm on Thursday, the typhoon eye was about 390km from Song Tử Tây in the Trường Sa Archipelago, with sustained speeds of 90-115km per hour.

By 1pm on Friday, it is forecast to be 270km from Song Tử Tây Island and gusting at 100-135km per hour.

Typhoon Nakri would be the strongest to hit the East Sea this year, said Mai Văn Khiêm, director of the centre.

When the typhoon makes landfall from Quảng Ngãi to Khánh Hòa, rainfall is expected at 200-300mm.

Nguyễn Trường Sơn, deputy head of the Natural Disaster Prevention Directorate under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, on Thursday ordered border soldiers, the Directorate of Fisheries  and authorities to relocate residents from risk-prone areas and send boats to safe areas.

He asked the centre for updates on the typhoon for agencies and localities to inform people, especially in Bình Định and Phú Yên.

Thirty-three fishermen from Quảng Ngãi Province have lost contact off the Trường Sa (Spratly) Archipelago are losing contact.

Border soldiers have been asked to make contact with their families and update them.

Sơn has also asked for assistance from the Philippines to help 170 fishermen from Bình Định Province on 31 boats operating near the country's waters.

According to authorities, as of 6am on Thursday, more than 47,000 boats and 243,063 people had been updated about the typhoon’s path.

The Directorate of Water Resources said reservoirs in the south-central region had filled to 50-70 per cent of their capacity. The directorate would continue to monitor water levels and release water in case of torrential rain.

The area from Đà Nẵng to Bình Thuận was hit by the fifth typhoon of the year in late October.

About 100m of sea dykes in Nhơn Hải Commune, Bình Định Province have been damaged, threatening the lives of 111 local households.

Local authorities have issued a state of emergency on the dykes and sent forces to reinforce the defences.

There are 11 sea dykes that need to be reinforced in the provinces of Quảng Nam, Quảng Ngãi, Bình Định, Khánh Hòa and Ninh Thuận. VNS