Vamco, the 13^th typhoon to hit Viet Nam this year, is forecast to directly impact the coastal and inland areas in the north and mid-central regions, especially localities from Ha Tinh to Thua Thien Hue, from Saturday evening into Sunday, 15 November.  This is a very powerful, fast moving typhoon, showcasing unpredictable and complicated developments, the Viet Nam's National Center for Hydro-meteorology Forecasting (NCHFM) announced in its latest bulletin.

Typhoon Vamco tracking map (Photo: NCHFM)

At 4am today, on Friday, the centre of Vamco laid around latitude 15°2’N and longitude 116°0’E, about 450 km south of the Hoang Sa Archipelago with maximum sustained wind of level 12 (115-135kph), near its centre, and a gust of level 15, causing 4 - 6m high sea waves 4-6m high, and fierce rough seas.

At 1am on Sunday, 15 November, Vamco could reach the area of the sea of the central localities from Quang Binh to Quang Nam with the maximum wind intensity falling a bit to levels 9-10, and a gust of level 13.

In the subsequent hours, the typhoon is projected to race the west-northwestward at 15kph, and move into the localities from Ha Tinh to Thua Thien Hue before gradually downgrading its strengths into a tropical depression and then a post-tropical remnant low.

At around 4am next Tuesday, 17 November, the remnants of the typhoon will sweep over Central Laos.

Meanwhile, according to projections made by international weathering forecasting agencies, Vamco could make landfall over Ha Tinh and Quang Binh provinces tomorrow evening.

Previously, Vamco tore through the main island of Luzon late on Wednesday and early Thursday. Police and soldiers in this hard-hit country searched for dozens of people still missing on Friday after the typhoon killed at least 39 people and caused some of the worst flooding in years in the capital Manila and nearby provinces, Reuters has said.

Tens of thousands of homes were submerged, although water levels started to recede in parts of the badly hit Marikina suburb, allowing residents to start cleanups after returning to homes covered in debris and caked in mud.  About 500,000 households in and around the capital were without power.

Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung on Friday morning called for central localities from Thanh Hoa to Binh Dinh to be on high alert against the upcoming powerful typhoon Vamco, well prepared for the impacts of extreme weather, plan ahead and take action to minimise the human and material loss to the lowest.

Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung delivering his instructions at the Friday meeting to tackle typhoon Vamco

In particular, relevant authorities must stand ready to respond to emergencies in a timely manner, address the consequences of the typhoon.

Given the impact of the storm, Vietnamese fishermen are highly advised to stay updated on the latest Vamco watches and warnings issued by NCHFM, as well as to observe the appearance of the sky and the ocean surface to predict changes in weather. On being notified of a storm, they should steer their boats towards the mainland or far away from at-risk areas.

From Saturday into next Monday, 16 November, a vast central region from Ha Tinh to Quang Ngai  provinces will be heavily soaked with the total average rainfall of ranging 200-350mm, even over 350mm in some of their parts. The lesser rain amount hovering at 50-150mm is measured in localities from Thanh Hoa to Nghe An.

Also, the water levels of rivers in localities from Quang Binh to Quang Ngai could reach the alarm levels 2 -3 due to storm surge.

In Da Nang, given the fact that staying home to protect their property is not worth risking their safety, mandatory evacuations of people living in local areas at risk of flooding and landslides to safety must be completed no later than 11am tomorrow, 14 November,

All schools, along with the city-based government agencies and companies, even those located in industrial parks, will close on Saturday due to the impacts of Vamco.

Also, all residents citywide are urged to not go outdoors from 12pm tomorrow for their ultimate safety during the typhoon's rage.

By HOANG HIEP – Translated by A.T