Storm No. 5 level 14, gust level 17 approaching Nghe An - Ha Tinh: Protecting people's lives is paramount

Storm No. 5 (Kajiki) with strong winds of level 14, gusts of level 17 is approaching Nghe An - Ha Tinh. In the face of dangerous developments, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized at the conference on August 24 that the highest goal is to save people, protect people's lives first, then property, and at the same time direct localities to proactively evacuate people, deploy the "4 on-site" plan with the highest spirit.

According to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, at 4:00 a.m. on August 25, the center of storm No. 5 (international name Kajiki) was located at about 18.3 degrees north latitude, 107.7 degrees east longitude, about 220km from Nghe An, about 200km from Ha Tinh , and about 180km north of Quang Tri.

The strongest wind near the storm center is level 14 (150-166 km/h), gusting to level 17. The storm moves in a West Northwest direction, at a speed of about 20 km/h.

Due to the influence of storm No. 5, many stations recorded strong winds: Bach Long Vi level 7, gust 9; Co To level 6, gust 9; Bai Chay level 6, gust 8; Hon Ngu level 7, gust 8; Con Co level 6, gust 8.

Forecast of storm No. 5. (Photo: National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting)

On the evening of August 24, at the Government's Forward Command Headquarters located at the Military Region 4 Command Headquarters, Nghe An Province, the Government held a conference to deploy and assign tasks to central and local ministries, branches and localities. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attended and chaired the conference.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh directly directs response to storm No. 5. (Photo: VNA)

The Prime Minister requested ministries, branches and localities to be resolute, closely follow, prepare early, from afar, and closely follow the situation before the storm hits; need to prepare human resources, materials, deploy the 4 on-site plans, carefully prepare evacuation plans, the goal is to save people, must protect people's lives first and foremost, then protect people's property, ensure quick, timely and most effective response.

The Head of Government emphasized that localities must evacuate people from high-risk areas due to flooding, landslides, high tides, riverbanks, and streams to safe locations; focus on ensuring the safety of boats, instructing boats in dangerous areas to stay out of dangerous areas, and in safe areas to stay out of dangerous areas, in the spirit of being decisive and thorough; must closely direct the management, regulation, and flood discharge of irrigation works and dam infrastructure to prevent overlapping floods and ensure the safety of dams and reservoirs, and avoid surprises. Ministries, departments, branches, and localities must strictly implement the documents of the Standing Secretariat and the telegrams of the Prime Minister.

By the afternoon of August 24, localities from Thanh Hoa to Hue had reviewed and made plans to evacuate people from dangerous areas. It is expected that about 90,285 households with 325,579 people will be evacuated, of which Nghe An plans to evacuate 10,022 households with 38,639 people. Special attention has also been paid to preparing logistics and necessities at evacuation sites, determined not to let people return until the storm has passed.

By 4 p.m. on August 24, the Border Guard had notified, counted, and instructed 59,617 vehicles and 248,843 people about the storm's developments so they could proactively avoid it. All fishing boats in the Thanh Hoa to Ha Tinh area were called to safe shelters. Eight provinces and cities from Ninh Binh to Quang Ngai have issued a sea ban.

Specifically, Ninh Binh will ban the sea from 7am on August 24, Thanh Hoa will ban the sea from 8am on August 24, Nghe An will ban the sea from 5am on August 24, Ha Tinh will ban the sea from 6pm on August 23, Quang Tri will ban the sea from 7am on August 24, Hue will ban the sea from 7pm on August 23; Da Nang from August 24, Quang Ngai will ban the sea from 1pm on August 24.

More than 400 people were mobilized to reinforce vulnerable dyke positions in Dan Hai commune, Ha Tinh province. (Photo: Department of Dyke Management and Natural Disaster Prevention and Control)

Tuoi Tre newspaper quoted a report from the Standing Office of the Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Search and Rescue of Ha Tinh province, saying that as of 5:30 p.m. on August 24, the entire Ha Tinh province had evacuated 3,972 households with nearly 10,000 people to safe locations to proactively respond to storm No. 5. Of which, coastal communes evacuated 3,785 households/9,345 people; communes at risk of flooding, flash floods, and landslides evacuated 187 households/427 people.

The Ha Tinh Department of Education and Training has issued a document directing educational units to proactively let students stay home from school to cope with the storm. More than 67,000 students in grades 1, 9 and 12 in Ha Tinh will be home from school for 2 days, from Monday (August 25) to Tuesday (August 26). Quang Tri province also let all students stay home from August 25 until the weather stabilizes.

In Thanh Hoa, by the afternoon of August 24, communes and wards were ready to evacuate 6,254 households/28,698 people (104 areas/20 communes and wards) living in areas 200m from the coast; 1,722 households/7,351 people (233 areas/59 communes) in areas at risk of flash floods; 6,275 households/26,551 people (529 areas/82 communes) in areas at risk of landslides in mountainous communes.

To ensure aviation safety, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam has decided to temporarily stop receiving aircraft at Tho Xuan and Dong Hoi Airports on August 25. Accordingly, Tho Xuan Airport will close and temporarily stop operations from 4:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and Dong Hoi Airport from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on August 25.

Photo: Department of Dyke Management and Disaster Prevention and Control

Source: https://thoidai.com.vn/bao-so-5-cap-14-giat-cap-17-ap-sat-nghe-an-ha-tinh-bao-ve-tinh-mang-nhan-dan-la-tren-het-215785.html