People in the Central region stayed up all night again to cope with the fierce storm.

On the evening of November 6, storm No. 13 swept into the mainland area between Gia Lai and Dak Lak provinces, causing heavy damage to houses and infrastructure. The storm's circulation caused many localities such as Da Nang, Quang Ngai, and Khanh Hoa to be submerged in heavy rain and strong winds. People in the Central region once again spent the night coping with the fierce storm.

According to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, at 10 p.m. on November 6, the storm's center was located on the mainland of Dak Lak - Gia Lai provinces. The strongest wind speed was level 9-10 (75-102 km/h), gusting to level 12.

Military forces increase support for Gia Lai province residents to cope with the storm. Photo: XUAN HUYEN

Mr. Mai Van Khiem, Director of the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, said that although the storm has weakened, when the eye of the storm makes landfall (around 7 p.m.), the storm will still be at level 11-13, gusting to level 15-16. The Vietnam Meteorological Agency and a number of international meteorological agencies believe that after making landfall, the storm will weaken into a tropical depression in the southern Laos region on the morning of November 7. According to Mr. Mai Van Khiem, there will be very heavy rain in the provinces of Quang Ngai and Gia Lai. The Central Highlands region needs to be on guard against the risk of landslides and flash floods.

By 11 p.m. on November 6, in the eastern part of Gia Lai province - the area where the storm passed through, the wind had reduced in intensity. In the urban area of ​​Quy Nhon, many houses, shops, constructions, trees and urban architecture were severely damaged. On Ly Son Island (Quang Ngai), Mr. Nguyen Van Huy, Chairman of the People's Committee of Ly Son Special Zone, said that the wind on the island had decreased to level 6, but the sea level rose more than 4 meters, causing flooding of about 500 houses in Tay village, An Hai commune; many fences and glass doors of people's houses were broken.

The National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting said that after the storm, from Da Nang to Dak Lak, there will be very heavy rain (200-400mm, some places over 600mm), from South Quang Tri to Hue and Khanh Hoa, Lam Dong will have rain of 150-300mm, some places over 450mm until the end of the night of November 7. On November 8, from Thanh Hoa to North Quang Tri, there will be rain of 50-100mm, some places over 200mm.

Evacuate nearly 22,000 people

On the evening of November 6, when storm No. 13 approached the mainland, the coastal areas of the South Central provinces experienced strong winds, rough seas, tornadoes in many places, high tides, and large waves threatening fishing villages. In Quy Nhon city, from 4:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., strong gusts of wind continued, shaking and collapsing many buildings and trees, and causing metal roofs to be blown away.

A restaurant in Quy Nhon Nam ward (Gia Lai province) was completely destroyed by the storm. Photo: NGOC OAI

Mr. Pham Anh Tuan, Chairman of Gia Lai Provincial People's Committee, said that storm No. 13 was very strong, so the province put the task of protecting people's lives first. During the day, the province evacuated 1,050 households with 3,455 people, arranged them at interspersed locations and solid headquarters. Previously, the province completely banned the sea. In Cat Tien commune, Mr. Nguyen Van Hung, Secretary of the commune Party Committee, said that 1,500 people had been evacuated to a safe place, maintaining the total force of the political system on duty, and absolutely not leaving their working positions.

On the same afternoon, thousands of Quang Ngai residents also evacuated to shelters. Ms. Nguyen Thi Thoi (65 years old, Pho An village, An Phu commune) said that despite her age, she was still worried because it had been many years since Quang Ngai had a storm predicted to make direct landfall. The entire Quang Ngai province had evacuated more than 5,500 households with 18,000 people, out of a total plan of 27,000 households to evacuate.

In Dak Lak, heavy rain and strong winds have broken many trees, blown off roofs of houses and schools. Local authorities have banned people from going out since 4:30 p.m. and organized the evacuation of dozens of households in the high tide area to Thanh Luong Pagoda to take shelter from the storm. The Dak Lak Provincial Military Command has mobilized more than 3,800 officers, 34 cars, 60 special vehicles, and 34 canoes to be on duty in 18 coastal communes and wards and is ready to move when required.

In Da Nang, in the evening, there were strong winds, heavy rain, and high waves. The Da Nang Border Guard mobilized all forces and means to support people in securing their houses and moving boats to safe shelters. 100% of the troops were on duty, ready when the storm made landfall.

The barren coast

At around 7 p.m. on November 6, when the eye of storm No. 13 entered the Quy Nhon area, the weather was temporarily calm. Taking advantage of this short period of time, SGGP reporters recorded many serious damages in coastal residential areas of Quy Nhon Nam ward. Although the storm had just entered, the destruction was huge: many houses and shops had their roofs blown off and collapsed; on Luong Dac Bang street alone, at least 2 shops were completely destroyed.

Traffic police clear fallen trees in Tuy An Bac commune, Dak Lak province. Photo: MAI CUONG

At around 8 p.m., the storm returned, with strong gusts causing the coastal city of Quy Nhon to buckle under the fierce destruction. Mr. Cao Thanh Thuong, Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Gia Lai province, said: "The storm's circulation is strong, many houses and structures have collapsed and been damaged. We have mobilized military and police forces and armored vehicles to inspect and assist in evacuating people to safety."

In Dak Lak province, Mr. Dao My, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, informed: when the storm made landfall in Song Cau ward, it is not yet possible to fully estimate the damage. However, Song Cau, Xuan Dai, Xuan Tho areas were heavily affected by the storm. Forces were ordered to be on standby, ready for rescue and relief.

On the night of November 6, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha and the Central working delegation were present at the Gia Lai Province Forward Command Headquarters to monitor and direct the work of preventing and overcoming the consequences of storm No. 13. The Deputy Prime Minister requested the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Science and Technology, Viettel and VNPT to ensure uninterrupted communication; at the same time, directed Quang Ngai to urgently rescue the Star Bueno ship stranded in Dung Quat waters, and prepare a plan in case of an oil spill.

According to Lieutenant General Le Quang Dao, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army, the military has established two working groups directly commanded by two Deputy Chiefs of the General Staff, currently on duty in Gia Lai and Quang Ngai. The entire army has mobilized 268,255 officers, along with more than 6,700 vehicles from various branches of the army, artillery, navy, coast guard, special forces, information, chemical, armored vehicles... ready to respond to and overcome the consequences of the storm in the South Central region.

Major General Le Van Sao, Deputy Commander of the Mobile Police Command, said the Ministry of Public Security has mobilized more than 30,000 officers and soldiers, over 1,000 ships and boats, and 7,000 vehicles of all kinds, ready to support localities when requested.

NGOC OAI - MAI CUONG - NGUYEN TRANG - HUU PHUC

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/nguoi-dan-mien-trung-lai-trang-dem-ung-pho-bao-du-post822206.html