VietNamNet Bridge – Typhoon Nalgae is moving towards central Vietnam where it is expected to bring heavy rains while in the Mekong Delta 11 people have died in flooding, the Central Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting Center said.

Nalgae is moving west at 15 kph and would lie 240 km northeast off the coast between Ha Tinh and Da Nang at 10 pm today, Oct 4, with winds of 62-88 kph and gusts of 102-117 kph, it said.

It will cause rough seas in the northern part of the East Sea, including off Hoang Sa (Paracel) Islands.

With a cold snap also hitting the northern region, the Gulf of Tonkin will also experience rough seas and strong winds with gusts of up to 75 kph.

Tomorrow the minimum temperature in the north will go below 20 degrees Celsius, with heavy rains and thunderstorms occurring in the region between Thanh Hoa and Thua Thien-Hue.

In the next 48 hours Nalgae is forecast to move west-southwest at 10 kph and weaken into a tropical depression.

At 10 pm tomorrow it is expected to arrive close to the coast between Ha Tinh and Quang Tri with gusts of 62-88 kph.

The depression will continue to move in the same direction and weaken into a low pressure area.

Yesterday around 34,000 boats, mostly fishing boats, with about 154,000 people on board had been informed about the storm’s movement and they had taken safety measures, the Central Steering Board for Flood and Storm Prevention and Control reported.

All fishing boats in the northern part of the East Sea and off Hoang Sa had left for safer places, it said.

Meanwhile, the continuing floods in the Mekong Delta had killed at least 11 people, including five children, and caused massive damage to crops in many provinces, it added.

Four deaths have been reported in An Giang, three each in Dong Thap and Long An, and one in Can Tho.

Many dykes have broken and some 20,500 houses were inundated or damaged, including 14,176 houses in An Giang and 5,963 in Dong Thap.

Nearly 5,000 hectares of rice in An Giang, Dong Thap, and Long An have been destroyed, mostly in An Giang.

During a working trip to the province yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai said the typhoon could worsen the flooding.

He urged authorities in the region to take urgent measures to minimize damage to life and property.

VietNamNet/Tuoi Tre