The meeting was connected via video conference to administrations of eight provinces and city, 88 district-level localities, and 1,155 communes and wards in the central and Central Highlands regions predicted to be affected by the storm.

PM Chinh said Noru, the fourth storm to appear in the East Sea this year, is heading towards the central region, noting that he issued an official dispatch on September 25 to urge response to the typhoon.

Apart from strong winds, the typhoon will bring heavy rains along, so it is also important to cope with post-storm landslides and floods, he added.

The Government leader demanded localities step up calling on fishermen and vessels to seek shelters; ensure safety for aquaculture farms, people’s livelihoods, students, and tourists; and protect heritage sites, infrastructure, and economic facilities to minimise damage.

At 4am on September 27, Noru had its eye in the southeast of Vietnam's Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago and sustained winds of up to 150 - 166km per hour, according to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

It is predicted to move mainly westwards in the next 12 hours, at a speed of 20 -25km per hour, and continue to intensify. At 4pm on September 27, its centre is about 300km to the east of Da Nang, 250km from Quang Nam, and 240km from Quang Ngai. The strongest winds at that time are likely to reach about 150 - 183km per hour.

In the following 12 - 24 hours, the typhoon will continue moving mainly westwards at some 20 - 25km per hour. Its centre will be on the waters near the coast of the provinces from Quang Tri to Binh Binh at 4am on September 28, when the strongest winds will be around 150 - 166km per hour.

In the next 24 - 48 hours, Noru will keep moving in the same direction at some 20km per hour, roll into the central part of the central region, and abate into a tropical depression and then a low-pressure area in Thailand. The low-pressure area’s strongest winds will slow down to less than 39km per hour.

To deal with the coming storm, the director of the aviation authority for the central region has decided to temporarily shut airports in this region.

Accordingly, the airports of Da Nang (Da Nang city), Phu Bai (Thua Thien-Hue province), Pleiku (Gia Lai province), and Phu Cat (Binh Dinh province) will be suspended from 12 noon on September 27 to 11:59am on September 28. Chu Lai airport in Quang Nam province will be closed from 7am on September 27 to 6:59am on September 28.

Therefore, flights to and from those airports during the time will be delayed.

Others to and from the airports of Vinh (Nghe An province), Dong Hoi (Quang Binh province), Tuy Hoa (Phu Yen province), Lien Khuong (Lam Dong province), and Buon Ma Thuot (Dak Lak province) will also be rescheduled.

Meanwhile, the Hanoi Railway Transport JSC also said it will suspend the Thong Nhat passenger trains that depart on September 27, namely SE5 from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City and SE6 from HCM City to Hanoi, to avoid the typhoon’s impacts.

Da Nang, Phu Bai, Pleiku, Phu Cat and Chu Lai airports were ordered to stop flight services on September 27 – 28, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam.

In addition, the schedule of flights to and from Vinh, Dong Hoi, Tuy Hoa, Lien Khuong and Buon Ma Thuot airports is expected to be adjusted due to the impact of the typhoon.

At 4am on September 27, Noru was swirling around the eastern part of the Hoang Sa archipelago in Vietnam’s East Sea, packing winds of more than 166kph near its centre.

In the next 12 hours, Noru is forecast to move west at a speed of 20-25kph and is likely to gain further strength. In the next 12 to 24 hours, it is anticipated to head towards the central coast of Vietnam and batter the region at midnight on September 27 or early on September 28.

Noru is one of the most powerful storms to hit the central region over the past 20 years, according to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

The meteorological agency has issued a red alert – the level four out of the five levels of disaster risk – as super typhoon Noru is entering the East Sea and heading toward the central coast of Vietnam.

The warning has been activated in the coastal localities of Da Nang, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai and Binh Dinh which are forecast to be hit hard by the super typhoon.

The meteorological agency also issued a disaster risk warning at level 3 in Quang Tri, Thua Thien-Hue, Phu Yen, and Kon Tum provinces.

Noru that developed from a low tropical depression off the Philippines on September 22 reached super typhoon status early on September 25 after suddenly gaining strength.

Noru swept across northern Philippines on September 25, killing at least six and flooding parts of the region.

Source: VNA/VOV