Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha chaired a meeting to assess the situation after storm No. 10 made landfall.

Comrade Tran Hong Ha - Member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Prime Minister, Deputy Head of the National Civil Defense Steering Committee, Head of the Forward Command Committee chaired at the Military Region 4 bridge point.

Comrade Le Hong Vinh - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, Head of the Provincial Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control - Search and Rescue and Civil Defense chaired at the bridge point of the Nghe An Provincial Military Command.

Heavy rain forecast of 300mm to last until September 30, river water rising

At 4:00 a.m. on September 29, storm No. 10 made landfall in Nghe An province. The strongest wind near the storm's eye was level 10-11, gusting to level 13; it blew off roofs of houses, public works, and educational facilities; trees and electric poles were knocked down; and power outages were widespread in the province.

Reporting at the meeting, Chairman of Nghe An Provincial People's Committee Le Hong Vinh said: The province has evacuated 4,359 households/10,729 people to safe places.

Military forces, police and other forces in the area have worked with local authorities to support people in moving their assets to safety, minimizing damage to people's property.

Nghe An also resolutely directed localities to deploy forces and people to anchor and reinforce houses and structures, contributing to minimizing damage caused by storms.

Nghe An currently has 2,895 vessels, with 13,070 workers directly exploiting seafood. Of these, 2,891 vessels with 13,048 workers have anchored safely at the ports; 4 vessels, with 22 workers are operating in the waters of Ho Chi Minh City. The authorities have coordinated with fishermen to secure and ensure the safety of boats at the anchorage area.

The province has directed the organization of dredging of canals, ditches, and drainage systems to minimize flooding in urban areas and low-lying areas.

In the coming time, Nghe An will focus on directing the implementation of storm recovery work No. 10 and responding to post-storm floods such as: Supporting people in evacuation areas to return home in areas that have been ensured safety; directing the mobilization of "4 on-site" forces to repair traffic, electricity, communication systems, schools, stations, and people's assets.

In particular, the province prioritizes immediate repair of schools and medical facilities that have had their roofs blown off or damaged by the storm to ensure students can return to school and ensure medical examination and treatment for the people; continues to direct focused response to post-storm floods, not being subjective or negligent.

At the meeting, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Nguyen Hoang Hiep said that storm No. 10 is expected to weaken into a tropical depression by 10 a.m. this morning and move to Laos.

However, the worrying thing is that the storm circulation will cause heavy rain in Thanh Hoa and Nghe An with forecasted rainfall of about 300mm, lasting until the end of September 30 before showing a tendency to decrease.

Heavy rain has caused water levels in rivers in Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, and Ha Tinh to rise, currently at alert levels 1-2 and will reach alert level 3 this afternoon.

Dam gates closed to cut floods downstream in Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh

Concluding the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha assessed that the accurate forecasting of storm No. 10 did not create subjectivity. The direction of the entire political system closely followed the situation at each time, ensuring that warnings, focused response and overcoming consequences were carried out synchronously.

Emphasizing the Prime Minister's directive spirit of continuous, overnight work, the Deputy Prime Minister also acknowledged the responsible and serious participation of ministries and branches, especially the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, the Ministry of National Defense, and localities.

In particular, the coordination between forces, as well as the fact that localities have promoted their experience in responding to storms No. 3 and No. 5, effectively implementing the "4 on-site" motto; basically strictly complying with regulations on storm and flood prevention, thereby reducing human losses to the lowest level.

However, storm No. 10 weakened into a tropical depression over Nghe An at around 10am this morning. Therefore, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha requested localities to continue to raise their vigilance and provide timely information to the people.

At the same time, it is recommended to closely follow hydrometeorological forecasts and develop appropriate response scenarios, especially in the context of water levels in lakes, dams, and rivers in Nghe An, Ha Tinh, and Thanh Hoa expected to rise, with many places likely to reach alert level 3. This is a situation that requires special vigilance, coupled with specific response solutions, and at the same time, it is necessary to strengthen the protection of dikes, especially vulnerable dike sections.

Recently, the reservoirs have complied well with the flood discharge order and at this time, with heavy rain forecast, the Deputy Prime Minister requested to immediately close the dam gates to cut off floods downstream in Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, and Ha Tinh.

The Deputy Prime Minister also requested localities to review the damage, grasp the situation in the areas and arrange the Army, Police and local forces to support people to repair damaged houses, especially, giving priority to families of meritorious people, war invalids, martyrs, and dependent households; as well as important projects such as educational and training facilities, and health care. For issues beyond their authority, recommendations should be made for timely resolution.

In the long term, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha agreed with the proposals and assigned the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to preside over the review of key works, especially the seriously degraded dyke system. At the same time, it is necessary to adjust the coastal residential planning and develop a specific strategy to ensure sustainable safety for the people.

Immediately after the meeting, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Le Hong Vinh directly inspected the localities along Highway 46 and Lam River. Nghe An Newspaper, Radio and Television will continue to inform.