Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha meets with provinces and cities to respond to storm No. 5

Also attending were: Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Hien - Member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Minister of National Defense and members of the Government's working delegation; Lieutenant General Ha Tho Binh - Commander of Military Region 4; Major General Doan Xuan Buong - Party Secretary, Political Commissar of Military Region 4.

The leaders of Nghe An province include comrades: Nguyen Duc Trung - Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee; Le Hong Vinh - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee.

The center of the storm is expected to be Nghe An, southern Thanh Hoa, and northern Ha Tinh.

Reporting on the storm's new developments as of 2 p.m. on August 25, the Department of Hydrometeorology said that the storm has not yet reached shore, but has caused strong winds in the provinces of Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, and Quang Tri.

The storm is maintaining its intensity at level 13 and is expected to make landfall between 3pm and 7pm on August 25. The storm's focus is expected to be Nghe An, southern Thanh Hoa, and northern Ha Tinh.

After making landfall, the storm will weaken, but the Vinh city area (old) will still have strong winds of level 10-11, gusting to level 13. Currently, Nghe An and Ha Tinh are experiencing heavy rain, with most areas having 200mm of rainfall. The tide is expected to rise 1-1.5m from the sea south of Thanh Hoa to north of Ha Tinh.

In Ha Tinh province, Provincial Party Secretary Nguyen Duy Lam said that so far there has been no damage caused by the storm, but heavy rain and strong winds. Ha Tinh province has evacuated 17,300 people to safety; and continues to monitor vulnerable areas.

In Nghe An province, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Le Hong Vinh said that Nghe An has issued a document temporarily closing the road from 11am on August 25 to prevent and combat storm No. 5. All boats have returned to their anchorage to safely avoid the storm.

Nghe An province has evacuated 4,245 households with 14,113 people, including more than 2,000 households with more than 9,000 people in coastal areas to safe storm shelters. Forces are on duty 24/7 at vulnerable points, at risk of flooding and landslides to respond when situations arise.

In Thanh Hoa province, 1,905 households with more than 7,000 people in 17 communes have been evacuated to high-rise, solid buildings to avoid the storm. Provincial leaders have organized 8 inspection teams to direct storm response; coastal and border guard stations have prepared food and necessities; other forces are ready to carry out their tasks.

In Quang Tri province, the rainfall in the southern region is not heavy, from 50-100mm. However, 20,000 hectares of crops in the south have been damaged by strong winds. The water level on the Gianh River is at alarm level 3.

Do not be subjective or negligent, be proactive in prevention.

Concluding the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha emphasized that storm No. 5 has just begun to have an impact on land, and is still very strong at level 12-13, gusting to level 17. "This is an extremely dangerous storm, so we must strictly implement the viewpoint of not being subjective or negligent, and must proactively take precautions," said the Deputy Prime Minister.

Through on-site inspection and listening to reports, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha acknowledged the drastic and responsible participation of the provinces and cities. The Deputy Prime Minister requested the provinces and cities to continue strictly implementing the instructions of the Prime Minister and the Government, most importantly ensuring the safety of people's lives; continue to review and evacuate people in areas at risk of being unsafe to storm shelters.

Analyzing the complicated situation during and after the storm, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha requested the two provinces of Thanh Hoa and Nghe An to send working groups of provincial leaders to direct the response to storm No. 5 and storm circulation in mountainous areas.

In particular, focus on assigning military and border guards to quickly deploy storm response measures with the "4 on-the-spot" motto; at the same time, support information for military forces in the process of responding to storms.

To effectively implement storm response measures, the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that, if necessary, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee must requisition materials, means, and equipment from state-owned and private enterprises to promptly respond to and overcome storm damage.

Emphasizing that dams pose many potential risks, the Deputy Prime Minister requested management units to measure water levels and report to localities and state management agencies on dikes.

Party committees, authorities at all levels, and forces continue to heighten vigilance, not allowing people to be negligent or subjective and go to boats and rafts for aquaculture... Police and army arrange forces to protect the property of families that have to evacuate. When a situation arises, report promptly for direction on handling.