A super typhoon, named Meranti, has been formed off the northwestern Pacific Ocean, near the East Sea, according to the National Hydro-meteorological Forecast Centre.

The eye of the storm was at 19.8 degrees north latitude and 120.0 degrees east longitude, some 350km northeast of the Luzon Island of the Philippines at 10am this morning.

Meranti, currently equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane, reached super typhoon status on Monday. A super typhoon is classified when sustained wind speeds hit at least 240kph.

The storm is forecast to move northwest at a speed of 20km in the next 24 hours. It is expected to be centred offshore the northeast of the East Sea tomorrow and to be off the coast of southeast China’s Guangdong province on Thursday. The strongest wind force near the storm centre was grade 15 (165-186kph).

The Central Steering Committee for Disaster Prevention and Control and the National Steering Committee for Search and Rescue have sent urgent messages to authorities of the coastal localities from Quang Ninh to Ha Tinh provinces and relevant ministries and agencies to undertake measures to deal with the typhoon.

They have been told to keep a close watch over the development of the typhoon, strictly manage the operation of vessels, keep regular contact with owners of vessels operating offshore to be able to deal with emerging issues in a timely manner and regularly inform ship owners of the development of the typhoon to help them actively perform proper preventive measures.

Local authorities were instructed to be well prepared in terms of human resources, equipment and vehicles for search and rescue operations, if necessary

Storm Rai’s damage

Meanwhile, the season’s fourth storm, Rai, weakened into a tropical low pressure system after making landfall in central coastal localities from Quang Nam to Quang Ngãi provinces and bringing heavy rain and wind speeds of 62-74km/h. 

Gusts of 75-102km/h were reported at sea early Tuesday morning, according to the National Hydro-meteorological Forecast Centre.

Up to 4am Tuesday morning, the storm had reportedly left one person missing and sunk three fishing boats.

The missing man was onboard a fishing boat from Quang Binh Province that was travelling 38 nautical miles away from Doc Cape.

One of the sunk boats was from Thua Thien-Hue Province and the other two were from Quang Ngai Province.

Vietnam Airlines (VNA) and Vietjet Air have cancelled several flights to the central region because of the storm.

Due to the tropical low pressure system, torrential rainfall measuring 50-150mm hit the central provinces from Nghe An to Thua Thien-Hue.

The centre has warned the mountainous localities of possible flash floods and landslides.

The storm affected the preparations of the fifth Asian Beach Games (ABG5) as stands, a pavilion and playing areas had to be dismantled on Monday.

The organising committee of ABG5 immediately continued their preparations as soon as the storm moved deeper inland between Da Nang and Quang Ngai Province around 8am Tuesday.

The opening ceremony of ABG5 will be on September 24th and the games will last until October 3rd.

High 3-4m waves were recorded off the coast of Ly Son Island in Quang Ngai Province, Cham Island in Quang Nam and Lang Co in Thua Thien-Hue around 8am Tuesday.

The Centre of Flood and Storm Prevention in the Central and Central Highlands regions warned that floods would occur near river banks from Thua Thien-Hue to Binh Dinh and north of the Central Highlands region.

The centre said the water levels of some rivers rose sharply early yesterday morning as the storm lashed the central region.

Water levels in both the Vu Gia and Thu Bon rivers in Quang Nam Province were up from 3.98m on Monday to 7m, while Tra Khuc River in Quang Ngãi Province rose from 2.3m to 5m Tuesday morning.

Rainfall of between 191-237mm has been measured over the last three days in Da Nang, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai and Binh Dinh, and serious erosion and landslides are likely on river banks and in mountainous areas.

Twelve fishermen from two stranded fishing ships from Quang Ngai and Khanh Hoa provinces were safely rescued off Cua Dai beach and off the Island of Truong Sa (Spratly).

The water levels of 55 reservoirs in the Central and Central Highland regions are still safe, according to the centre. 

VNS