As a tropical low-pressure system is continuing to develop, agencies must closely monitor the situation so that captains and owners of vessels receive timely notification of its progress in order to avoid dangerous areas.

As a tropical low-pressure system is continuing to develop, agencies must closely monitor the situation so that captains and owners of vessels receive timely notification of its progress in order to avoid dangerous areas.— Photo nchmfnews.com

Tran Quang Hoai, head of the committee’s Viet Nam Disaster Management Authority under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, directed relevant agencies and localities to prepare for the possibility that low-pressure system may become a storm at an urgent meeting yesterday morning.

Hoai asked the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting to provide timely forecasts and warnings on the tropical low-pressure system for the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control as well as news agencies and the press.

Viet Nam Television, Radio Voice of Viet Nam, news agencies and local newspapers were requested to increase reports on the tropical low-pressure’s progress, he said.

At the same time, he ordered the concerned agencies to continue monitoring vessels still operating in the sea and maintain regular communications with their owners to deal with any possible situations.

Local authorities should take the initiative to safeguard tourists on the islands, he said.

Tran Duong Kien from the High Command of the Border Guard said that as of 6.00am on Monday the border guard at coastal provinces and cities had coordinated with local authorities to advise 51,566 ships with more than 248,000 labourers to move out of dangerous zones.

Earlier on Sunday, central provinces of Thua Thiên-Hue, Da Nang and Quang Ngai banned fishing boats from going offshore.

According to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, the tropical low-pressure system is forecast to move north at speed of between 5-10km per hour and is likely to become a storm. Strongest winds near its centre are estimated to reach 60-75km per hour.

Heavy rains and cyclones might occur on the waters off the coast of central and southern regions from the provinces of Ca Mau to Kien Giang and the Gulf of Thailand.

According to An Giang Province’s Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, a landslide occurred at a bank of Ong Chuong River, affecting an area 50m in length and 4m in width.  Local government has called on residents to evacuate their property to safe areas and erect signals to prevent vehicles from entering the dangerous zones.

Regarding the 2,000 tourists stranded on Ly Son Island, Quang Ngai Province, as passenger boat services have been suspended due to rough seas, Ly Son District’s authorities said they would mobilise seven high-speed ships to take the tourists back to the mainland if the weather was favourable.

Local authorities also asked restaurants and hotels on the island to support passengers during their stay.

Thousands of hectares of paddy rice in the 2018 summer-autumn crop in the central province of Quang Ngai were severely damaged.

Dang Ngoc Thang, deputy head of Mo Duc District’s Agricultural and Rural Development sub-department, said heavy rains over the past few days have inundated 1,700 hectares of rice fields. Many areas are covered in water up to 1m deep.

The department has instructed cooperatives to mobilise forces and machines to speed up drainage, limiting the affected area.

(Source: VNS)