All-out efforts to fight typhoon Kalmaegi

Storm No. 13 (Kalmaegi) is expected to make landfall in the South Central region early tomorrow morning (November 7). Authorities and residents are racing against time to shore up their homes, protect their property, and evacuate people to storm shelters.

People of Nhon Chau island commune ( Gia Lai ) help each other pull boats ashore to avoid the storm - Photo: HIEP HUNG

Having lived more than half of their lives and witnessed many big storms, today the brave fishermen at Nhon Ly beach (Quy Nhon Dong ward, Gia Lai) said they were scared by the news of storm number 13.

Terrified by the storm's intensity

On the sunburned face of Mr. Nguyen Cu (54 years old), living in Ly Luong quarter, anxiety was clearly visible as the path of the super typhoon was heading straight towards this coastal area. He has lived by the sea all his life, opening his eyes to look out to sea in the morning, but today those same eyes showed a lot of fear and caution.

On the embankment, the fishermen brought the basket boats ashore and tied them together with ropes. Not far away, more than a dozen floating houses, which used to be tourist businesses, were also pulled up onto the sand and carefully tied up. In the houses facing the sea, the main doors and windows were locked with ropes and bars.

People carefully covered their houses with plastic sheets to prevent the seawater from hitting them directly. TVs, refrigerators, and other valuables were taken away and stored in high places. The houses were locked up behind bare walls, waiting to bear the brunt of the storm.

Mr. Cu said that no one dared to stay in the houses near the sea during the storm. Therefore, from the evening of November 5, they evacuated to relatives' houses or evacuation centers designated by the government.

Not far away, all day on November 5, the people of Nhon Hai coastal village (Quy Nhon Dong ward) were busy protecting their houses from the big storm. The banyan and royal poinciana trees along the village roads, in offices and schools were stripped of their branches, leaving only their trunks to withstand the storm.

On the roof, people called out to each other to pull sandbags, bring rocks, and block tires to hold the corrugated iron roof.

Fishermen anchor their boats to avoid storm No. 13 in a sheltered sea area in Dam Mon village (Dai Lanh commune, Khanh Hoa province) - Photo by NGUYEN HOANG

Flood center is busy with shoring and relocation

As the storm approaches, people in the flood zone are as worried as those at the forefront. The residents of Tuy Phuoc Dong (Gia Lai) flood zone, despite their wealth of experience, do not dare to be confident when talking about the storm.

Under the golden afternoon sun on the pile of rocks at the village entrance, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Bich (48 years old) and her female neighbor quickly shoveled gravel into prepared sacks. They hurriedly carried each load home, handing it over to the men to pull up and support the roof.

Recalling the previous flood when the water rose to the window, Mrs. Bich could not help but shiver when the authorities warned that this storm could bring floods that exceeded all previous historical peaks. That means the water would flood the window, or reach the crossbeam, or even the tin roof of the house in the middle of the field. Thinking of that, she did not hesitate, telling her family of 6 that they would evacuate as soon as the commune officials came to ask.

On the village road, militiamen on motorbikes spread out in groups carrying the elderly and disabled to evacuate early. With two militiamen holding a motorbike to take her to the top of the hill, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Loi (80 years old), resident of Lac Dien hamlet, Tuy Phuoc Dong commune, breathed a sigh of relief because she escaped the risk of her house being submerged by floodwaters in the middle of the night.

At the storm response meeting on the afternoon of November 5, Mr. Pham Anh Tuan - Chairman of Gia Lai Provincial People's Committee - could not hide his anxiety. Although the radio and newspapers had propagated to the fullest extent, and the authorities at all levels had taken drastic measures, there were still some people who were subjective and hesitant to evacuate. The Provincial Chairman said that at all costs, people in low-lying and landslide-prone areas must be evacuated from their homes, even if forced evacuation was required. They absolutely must not wait until the storm hits before people climb onto their roofs to call for help. Rescue at that time is dangerous for both sides.

Mr. Tuan said that to avoid flooding, the province has directed reservoirs to increase maximum discharge to create flood capacity, helping to reduce the flow downstream during this storm. Gia Lai leaders estimate that with the super storm scenario just activated, the province will evacuate more than 100,000 households with 350,000 people, mainly interspersed among the population and some evacuated to solid facilities.

The main army units, the people's support, are also ready to go into battle. Military Region 5 and Army Corps 34 have committed to mobilizing divisions and regiments, bringing vehicles and equipment to the locality to coordinate with people to fight the storm.

Deputy Prime Minister directly commanded

Faced with the dangerous developments of the storm, the Government decided to set up a command post in Gia Lai province to command storm response work in the area. According to Mr. Pham Anh Tuan - Chairman of Gia Lai Provincial People's Committee, it is expected that today (November 6), Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha and leaders of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment will go to Gia Lai to directly join the people in fighting the storm. Gia Lai province also decided to set up a forward command post in An Nhon ward with the leadership of the Provincial Chairman to command storm response in the area.

There are also regional command posts located in Quy Nhon, An Lao, Hoai An, Phu Cat, Tay Son, Vinh Thanh, Hoai Nhon, Phu My, Tuy Phuoc, Van Canh, and Tay Gia Lai areas.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Bich (48 years old), a resident of the flood-hit Tuy Phuoc Dong, Gia Lai, and her neighbors put crushed stone in sacks to support the roof of her house - Photo: TAN LUC

Dak Lak brought people ashore earlier than expected

Chairman of Dak Lak Provincial People's Committee Ta Anh Tuan affirmed that all households in areas at risk of flooding and landslides will be evacuated to safety.

On the afternoon of November 5, Mr. Tuan said that storm No. 13 (international name Kalmaegi) is strong and moving quickly, so the time from now until the storm reaches the shore is the "golden time" to prepare for response.

"The province is focusing on mobilizing people, especially aquaculture households, to harvest early to reduce damage. All boats in the danger zone have been asked to leave the area, return to shore or take shelter safely. Some boats in the Truong Sa area are urgently returning," said Mr. Tuan.

In Song Cau Ward and Xuan Dai Ward, two coastal areas with a focus on aquaculture, especially lobsters, storm prevention work was urgently deployed from the morning of November 5. Militia, police, and army forces were mobilized to support people in securing their houses, cutting down trees, and moving their assets and vehicles to safety. Mr. Nguyen Quang Hung (55 years old, Dan Phu 2 village, Song Cau ward) said that his family was supported by the army in pulling boats ashore, and was given barrels and plastic bags to pump water to secure the roof before leaving their homes with 91 households in the village to evacuate on the afternoon of November 5.

According to Mr. Ta Anh Tuan, the evacuation of all people on boats and rafts will be completed before 3 p.m. on November 6, earlier than the central government’s regulations. The province also checked areas at risk of high tides, landslides, and deep flooding to evacuate people to safety.

Khanh Hoa responds to storm Kalmaegi at the highest level

In Khanh Hoa, on November 5, working groups led by provincial leaders directly inspected all vulnerable areas at risk of landslides, flooding, flash floods... throughout the province before typhoon Kalmaegi makes landfall.

Inspecting storm prevention work in localities in northern Khanh Hoa, Chairman of Khanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Khac Toan said that learning from the "bloody" experience and lessons from storm Damrey in 2017, the province proactively developed plans and scenarios to respond to storm Kalmaegi at the highest level.

How dangerous is Typhoon Kalmaegi?

Mr. Mai Van Khiem, Director of the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, said that storm Kalmaegi is especially dangerous with strong intensity in the East Sea and when it makes landfall, it can maintain very strong intensity.

It is forecasted that around this afternoon (November 6), storm Kalmaegi will enter the sea area of ​​Da Nang - Khanh Hoa. Around the night of November 6 (after 9 p.m.) to early morning of November 7, the storm will make landfall in the provinces from Quang Ngai - Dak Lak, then move to Laos, weaken into a tropical depression and gradually dissipate.

Mr. Khiem warned that storm Kalmaegi could cause many impacts such as strong winds, big waves, heavy rain, flash floods, landslides, and widespread flooding in the Central provinces.

First of all, in the East Sea and coastal waters with strong winds of level 14, gusting to level 17, waves around the storm center can be up to 8 - 10m high, posing danger to all ships and it is necessary to pay attention to the impacts on Truong Sa special zone and marine structures.

In coastal areas, storm winds can be as strong as level 12, waves from 4 to 6 meters high, especially tomorrow when high tides combine with storm surges from 0.9 to 1.2 meters high. It is necessary to pay close attention to plans to avoid very strong winds in Ly Son special zone and anchor boats and raise aquatic products in Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Quang Ngai...

For the mainland, Mr. Khiem warned that the circulation of storm Kalmaegi could cause strong winds from Quang Tri to Khanh Hoa, especially around the storm's eye - the center of Quang Ngai, Gia Lai, and Dak Lak provinces - where there could be strong winds of level 10 - 12, gusting to level 15, or even higher.

"The storm's strong winds also extend north of the storm's center due to interaction with cold air, so the wind can reach level 8-9, gusting to level 10. The Central Highlands provinces also need to be on guard against strong winds, for example, at An Khe pass, there can be winds of level 9, even level 10, gusting to level 12, posing danger to wind power projects and houses," Mr. Khiem noted.

Regarding rain, Mr. Khiem said that although the cold air and high altitude easterly winds have weakened, the storm circulation still causes heavy rain in the Central Central and South Central regions from 200 - 300mm, locally over 600mm, concentrated on November 6 and 7, especially in the provinces and cities of Hue, Da Nang, Quang Ngai, Gia Lai, and Dak Lak.

"With such heavy and continuous rainfall during such a period, it is especially dangerous for medium and small reservoirs in the Central, South Central and Central Highlands regions. Along with that, there is a risk of major floods on rivers from Hue City to Dak Lak, some rivers will reach alert level 2 to alert level 3, some rivers will reach alert level 3. There is a very high risk of flash floods and landslides in the mountainous areas of the Central and Central Highlands regions," Mr. Khiem warned.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/doc-toan-luc-chong-bao-kalmaegi-20251106073705882.htm