Korean leader extends condolences over flood losses
Forecasters said yesterday that Storm Noul (or Red Sun) was turning into a tropical depression, and it no longer seriously threatened central and southern Viet Nam, although the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Cao Duc Phat, still considered “it complicated”.
Up to now, 14 people have been reported as either dead or missing in Khanh Hoa and Phu Yen provinces because of the storm.
According to the National Centre for Hydrometeorological Forecasting, the tropical depression was travelling west, with a wind speed of less than 39km per hour.
The centre also said the storm would bring heavy rains to the Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) and the south-east.
Many places in Binh Duong, Khanh Hoa. and Ninh Thuan provinces have already been seriously flooded by the storm.
As the storm continues to bring heavy rains, to the south-eastern region, water levels have exceeded alarm level three in Dau Tieng Reservoir in Binh Duong Province. The reservoir had to be drained to deal with the storm, which led to the flooding.
Central and southern provinces and cities were trying to cope with the heavy rains and floods.
Binh Dinh, Binh Thuan, Dong Thap, An Giang, Phu Yen, Soc Trang, Ninh Thuan, Tra Vinh, Ca Mau, Gia Lai and Ba Ria-Vung Tau provinces were calling in their offshore ships, asking fishermen to find shelter, while banning any ships from going out to sea.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had also sent messages to China, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia to ask them to shelter Vietnamese ships and fishermen.
Phat said forecasters had been off the mark lately, in giving incorrect predictions of rains, storms and floods over the last few months, and that they had to work to increase the accuracy of their forecasts.
The minister also said that they had to remain prepared to deal with the depression, in case these predictions were once again incorrect.
Localities prepare
HCM City, which is dealing with the highest tide the city has seen in the past few decades, has already moved more than 2,000 people mostly women, children, the elderly and disabled, to safe areas in the island commune of Thanh An, Can Gio District.
The city had dispatched 200 automobiles to move around 200,000 households with nearly 700,000 people from dangerous areas, said Nguyen Trung Tin, deputy chairman of the city’s People’s Committee.
Tin said those people would be moved to 330 shelters.
“All buildings under construction must be stopped immediately,” said Tin. The HCM City Committee for Flood and Storm Control advised local people to close all their doors, windows and any holes in their homes.
It also advised that no one leave their homes during periods of heavy rain and strong winds, telling them to find adequate shelter, and keep enough food and supplies for seven to 10 days.
Binh Duong Province had also moved 200 households away from flooded areas to Thuan An District, where authorities had provider them with noodles and necessary supplies.
The district’s chairman Tran Thanh Liem said they would set up another shelter in Lai Thieu Town.
Water levels in the district were as high as 1.2m, flooding hundreds of hectares of fruit trees and fish ponds, said Liem.
Other provinces had urged their residents to harvest crops as soon as possible, and ensure their were ready to deal with emergencies.
Vinh Long Province was carrying out similar preparations, and had urged its officials to stop all the unnecessary meetings to focus on preventing damage caused by the storm.
Students in affected provinces and cities were allowed to stay at home as of yesterday.
Meanwhile, cold spells have been hitting the north, adding to heavy rains and storms in the central and northern areas. Temperatures have dropped below 10 degrees Celsius in some northern mountainous provinces.
The lowest temperature of 5 degrees Celsius was reported in Sin Ho, Lai Chau Province, with temperatures around 7 degrees Celsius in Lao Cai Province’s Sapa Town.
