The direction of Storm Vamco. — Photo nchmf.gov.vn

HÀ NỘI — The Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control has ordered central localities to strictly manage the operation of fishing vessels and stand ready for emergencies as Storm Vamco headed towards the East Sea yesterday.

All offshore fishing vessels must be kept informed of the developments of the storm so they could avoid danger areas and find safe anchorage, said deputy chief of the committee’s office, Phạm Đức Luận, who chaired a committee meeting held yesterday in Hà Nội.

Luận also told staff to co-operate with the National Centre for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting to stay up to date on the developments of the storm and propose practical measures to help localities respond to the threat.

According to the centre, by 7am today (Thursday), the storm would be about 810km east of the Hoàng Sa (Paracel) Archipelago, with wind speeds of up to 100-135km per hour.

The storm, which was moving west at 20-25km per hour, was forecast to have a direct impact on the central region on Saturday.

In a related movement, data from the committee showed that two people were killed, one person was missing and five people were injured due to Storm Etau, that has now weakened to a tropical low-pressure system after it made its landfall in central provinces from Bình Định to Ninh Thuận at about 10am on Tuesday, causing torrential rains and strong winds.

The storm damaged 313 houses in Bình Định, Phú Yên and Khánh Hòa and caused a massive blackout in eight communes in Khánh Hòa Province and 55 communes in Phú Yên Province on Tuesday, the committee said.

Due to the impacts of the tropical low-pressure system, mountainous districts in provinces from Thừa Thiên Huế to Khánh Hòa, and the Central Highlands had been put on a high alert for flash floods and landslides since yesterday, the committee said. — VNS