Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City urgently respond to storm No. 12

Faced with the complicated developments of storm No. 12 and the risk of prolonged heavy rain, flash floods, and landslides, the Da Nang City Civil Defense Command has been urgently deploying response measures with the most proactive and drastic spirit.

Fishing boats of fishermen from the central coastal provinces anchored to avoid the storm at Tho Quang fishing port ( Da Nang ). Photo: Tran Le Lam/VNA

According to the report of the Da Nang City Civil Defense Command, from 7:00 p.m. last night (October 19) until now, many localities have experienced heavy rain with an amount exceeding 100 mm, especially in Tra Van commune (124 mm), Hiep Duc commune (119.4 mm), Nam Tra My commune (118 mm),... Most of the remaining localities have had moderate and light rain. Water levels on rivers are below alert level I. Irrigation/hydroelectric reservoirs are operating normally. 7/17 reservoirs managed by Quang Nam Irrigation Exploitation Company Limited are full of water. 7 other reservoirs have reached 50 - 80% of capacity. Most of the medium and small reservoirs managed by Da Nang Irrigation Exploitation Company Limited are full. Large reservoirs such as Song Tranh 2, A Vuong, Song Bung 4, Song Bung 2, Dak Mi 4 have regulations on operating water levels to receive floods. The City Civil Defense Command has issued official dispatches requesting owners of hydroelectric reservoirs in the Vu Gia-Thu Bon river basin to operate according to correct procedures to ensure safety of the reservoirs and downstream areas.

As of 9am on October 20, the total number of fishing vessels in Da Nang was 4,148. The city's Border Guard has been continuously issuing storm warning bulletins to 264 fishing vessels operating at sea, including 32 vessels in the Hoang Sa area and 71 vessels in the Truong Sa area, and at the same time calling and guiding the vessels to move away from the danger zone and have a safe journey plan. Rescue forces and vehicles are always on standby.

Regarding production, the 2025 Summer-Autumn crop has harvested 41,225 hectares of rice (with an estimated average yield of 56.48 quintals/ha). Other crops such as corn, peanuts, sesame, and watermelon have been harvested. The aquaculture situation is stable, with no outbreaks of disease. The total pond area is 1,740 hectares and 2,380 cages are being raised. The authorities have issued an official dispatch instructing people on storm prevention measures for 1,670 hectares of ponds and 2,380 cages at risk of being affected.

The City Civil Defense Command has directed the organization of serious on-duty shifts, closely monitoring weather developments, and advising the Chairman of the City People's Committee to issue Official Dispatch No. 07/CD-UBND dated October 17, 2025 on proactively responding to natural disasters in the coming time. At the same time, departments, branches, and localities are required to urgently deploy directive contents, closely monitor disaster forecast and warning bulletins, and be ready to deploy disaster prevention and control plans according to the "4 on-site" motto. Localities are continuing to closely monitor storm developments to proactively evacuate people when necessary. The total number of people expected to be evacuated is 210,014, including both interleaved and concentrated evacuation plans. The planned evacuation areas are solid structures concentrated in the locality such as schools, cultural houses, churches, and pagodas.

Da Nang authorities are making every effort to minimize human and property damage caused by storm No. 12. People are advised to follow official information and proactively stock up on food and necessities for at least 3 days as recommended by the city government, and coordinate evacuation when requested.

On the afternoon of October 20, at an online meeting to respond to storm No. 12 and the upcoming widespread heavy rains, Vice Chairman of the City People's Committee Tran Nam Hung gave many drastic instructions, emphasizing the spirit of proactively preventing natural disasters according to the motto "4 on-site".

In response, the Vice Chairman of the Da Nang City People's Committee requested communes and wards to immediately activate local disaster prevention and control plans, step up information dissemination to each residential area and household, and take measures to evacuate people to safe places according to the approved evacuation plan. At the same time, localities must focus on arranging forces and means to be on duty and regulate traffic points with high risk of flooding and proactively let students take time off from school according to the actual situation.

For urban areas, the Vice Chairman assigned the Department of Construction to review and mark flooded areas, develop treatment plans, and mobilize people to remove items covering drains to increase drainage capacity. The Department of Agriculture and Environment was assigned to continue monitoring and closely coordinating with hydropower and irrigation units to proactively regulate water levels according to the prescribed "scenario".

The Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Da Nang City noted that localities must inform people to prepare food and necessities to store for at least 3 days.

“All plans must be ready before 5 p.m. on October 22. The City Military Command will command all forces and about 300 small boats mobilized by volunteer organizations to assist in evacuating people from flooded areas,” Mr. Tran Nam Hung emphasized.

Meanwhile, on the afternoon of October 20, the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Ho Chi Minh City also issued an official dispatch requesting the People's Committees of coastal wards and communes, island communes and special zones, the City Border Guard Command, the Department of Fisheries and Fisheries Control, and the City Coastal Information Station to regularly inform vessels and boats operating at sea about the developments of storm No. 12 so that they can have appropriate plans for production and exploitation of aquatic products.

Units and localities organize monitoring, counting and statistics of the number of vessels operating in the affected area; maintain contact with vehicle owners to provide instructions to ensure safety for vessels and vehicles (including tourist boats) operating at sea and along the coast to proactively escape from dangerous areas or to safe shelters.

The Department of Agriculture and Environment of Ho Chi Minh City requires the Department of Fisheries and Fisheries Control to grasp the location and coordinates of fishing vessels operating offshore, the number of crew members, the status of vessels under their management, especially fishing vessels operating in areas that may be directly affected by the storm, to notify vessels to move to shelter and anchor safely; request ship owners and captains not to leave crew members on board when the storm makes landfall directly at the anchorage area. Prepare forces, means and equipment to carry out search and rescue operations when situations arise.

Previously, on the morning of October 20, at a working session with localities and units in the Ba Ria - Vung Tau area, Mr. Bui Minh Thanh, Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, directed localities and the Department of Agriculture and Environment to review all fishing vessels of Ho Chi Minh City that are fishing far away, especially in the area affected by storm No. 12. The authorities need to take early action to inform fishing vessels so that fishermen can proactively find places to avoid and take shelter from the storm, ensuring the safety of people and vehicles working at sea. "Storm No. 12 is determined to have a rather complicated path, so the authorities need to proactively inform people working at sea to minimize damage," Mr. Bui Minh Thach noted.

Proactively responding to storm No. 12, Colonel Tran Ngoc Tang, Deputy Commander of the Ho Chi Minh City Border Guard, said that the City Border Guard has increased the number of ships stationed in Con Dao. Currently, the working group is supporting the people of Con Dao special zone to prevent storms and the upcoming monsoon season, then continuing to strengthen the peak period of preventing illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing until November 15.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/thoi-su/da-nang-va-tp-ho-chi-minh-khan-truong-ung-pho-voi-bao-so-12-20251020220807787.htm