The direction of typhoon Kammuri. —Photo nchmf.gov.vn

HÀ NỘI — Typhoon Kammuri, with winds of up to 165km per hour at its eye, is heading to the East Sea.

The National Centre for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting warned that the typhoon would hit the eastern part of the East Sea on Tuesday night.

The typhoon is moving west-northwest at 15-20 km per hour.

To prepare for the typhoon, deputy head of the Việt Nam Disaster Management Authority, Nguyễn Trường Sơn ordered, at an urgent meeting on Tuesday morning, the national forecasting centre to provide constant updates on the developments of the typhoon so that localities and relevant agencies could respond.

Sơn told the border guard force to co-operate with relevant sectors to inform offshore vessels of the typhoon’s developments and urge them to quickly find safe shelter.

In a related move, the Central Steering Committee on Natural Disaster Prevention and Control has asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to request the Philippines to help Vietnamese fishermen and vessels to find safe shelter during the typhoon.

The committee asked localities that could be affected by the typhoon to make active preparations.

First frost of the winter

In another development, the northern region’s mountainous area is predicted to be hit by the first frost of the winter, triggered by a new cold spell, on Wednesday.

A strong northeast monsoon had impacted the region since December 1, causing cold weather and rain in the central region, said Nguyễn Văn Hưởng, head of the Climate Forecasting Office under the National Centre for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting.

The new cold spell appeared on Wednesday and would bring a sharp temperature drop for the north and central region, especially in high mountainous area, he said.

The temperature could drop to 0 degrees Celsius in high mountainous areas, 10 degrees Celsius in mountainous areas and 13 degrees Celsius in delta areas, he said.

Hưởng warned people living in high mountainous areas to prepare for frost. 

According to the weather forecasting centre, the northern region would be hit by 5-7 cold spells this month. The temperature would drop sharply towards midnight and early morning. — VNS