Urgent meeting of 22 provinces to prepare for storm No. 7

Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung chaired an urgent online meeting with 22 provinces from Quang Ninh to Khanh Hoa to prepare for storm No. 7.

14m high waves, risk of storm on storm

At an urgent meeting this afternoon, October 16, Mr. Hoang Duc Cuong, Director of the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, informed that this morning after entering the East Sea, storm No. 7 (Sarika) is still maintaining strong winds of level 13-14, gusting to level 16-17.

At 2:00 p.m. this afternoon, the storm center was at 16.5 degrees North latitude, 115.8 degrees East longitude, 700km east of Hoang Sa archipelago.

The storm is currently moving rapidly at 20-25km/h in a westerly direction and maintains its wind strength.

When reaching the middle of the Paracel Islands, storm No. 7 will move west-northwest and will reach level 14, gusting to level 17 when approaching the south of Hainan Island, China.

It is forecasted that by October 19, the storm will enter the Gulf of Tonkin, with winds decreasing to level 12, gusting to level 14-15.

Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung chaired an urgent meeting to combat storm No. 7 this afternoon.

Regarding the landing location, Mr. Cuong said that because the storm will not reach land for another 3 days, the exact focus cannot be determined yet, and provinces from Quang Ninh to Thua Thien Hue are all at risk. The specific area will be identified in the next 1-2 days.

Due to the big storm, the area with strong winds of level 6 or higher spreads from Quang Ninh - Khanh Hoa.

“The most dangerous thing right now is at sea. The storm will reach its strongest intensity - level 14 - when it hits Hoang Sa, equivalent to super typhoon Haiyan. The time the storm makes landfall is also the time of the highest tide of the year, so the water level will rise 1-2m, the waves near the shore will be 5-6m high, and 10-14m high offshore,” Mr. Cuong warned.

According to Mr. Cuong, if it still maintains wind level 11-12, gusting to level 14-15, storm number 7 will be the strongest storm in many years, posing danger to even high-rise buildings.

Because the storm moves quickly, it is forecasted to dissipate quickly, with heavy rain lasting for 1-1.5 days with an average of 200-300mm, some places over 400mm. The heavy rain will be concentrated in the Northern Delta and the North Central provinces from Nghe An and beyond.

Notably, right after storm No. 7 makes landfall, the East Sea will be at risk of being hit by storm Haima with even stronger winds, possibly reaching super typhoon level. This storm is currently active off the coast of the Philippines.

Prepare plans against super storms

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong expressed concern that storm No. 7 made landfall at a time when four central provinces were struggling to deal with the consequences of floods. It was also a late, unseasonal storm, so localities could easily become complacent.

Mr. Cuong said that despite the above forecast, due to the strong storm, there are still many abnormal factors affecting it, so the provinces within the area of ​​strong winds must prepare response scenarios at the highest level. The provinces from Khanh Hoa onwards are determined to ensure safety at sea.

In addition, if the storm makes landfall in the Central Central region - where most reservoirs are full - a disaster is likely to occur. In particular, the 14 midland and mountainous provinces and the western slopes of the Central Central region need to be on guard against the risk of landslides.

He suggested that localities review all options according to the 4 on-site motto.

The Chairman of the Thai Binh Provincial People's Committee this afternoon mobilized all district leaders to attend an online meeting. The two coastal districts of Thai Thuy and Tien Hai were ordered to develop plans to combat the super typhoon.

In Ha Tinh, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Dang Quoc Khanh said that plans have been made to evacuate people in key areas and prepare all necessities and medicine to proactively fight storm No. 7.

Concluding the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung directed the provinces from Nghe An to Thua Thien Hue to continue to strictly implement the work of overcoming the consequences of floods, focusing on searching for missing people, continuing to visit and encourage the families of victims of death and injury.

At the same time, conduct a review to promptly rescue the affected people, not letting any people go hungry.

The Deputy Prime Minister also noted that the four central provinces should focus on restoring production, first of all restoring traffic and electricity infrastructure, repairing houses for people; focusing on environmental sanitation, paying attention to clean water for people, and preventing epidemics.

“With storm No. 7, localities need to take the initiative to let students stay home from school or ban going to the beach. Conduct safety checks on reservoirs, irrigation and hydroelectric works,” the Deputy Prime Minister directed and requested localities to prepare enough necessities for areas at risk.

The Ministry of Construction is assigned to brace houses, high towers, and constructions under construction to avoid damage like the Son Tinh storm.

According to Vietnamnet