North to south central coastal localities and ministries have been asked to notify ships at sea about storm Kujira, the first to appear in the East Sea this year.

As of 4 pm on June 21, storm Kujira’s centre was at 16.6 degrees north and 111.4 degrees east in the area of Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago, packing 60-75 kilometre per hour winds, according to the National Centre for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting.

In the next 24 hours, it is forecast to move north-northwest at a speed 10 kilometres per hour. At 4 pm on June 22, its centre is likely to reach 18.9 degrees north and 110.9 degrees east with wind speeds from 75-90 kilometres per hour.

At 4 pm on June 23, Kujira’s centre is predicted to be south of China’s Leizhou peninsula with winds blowing at 60-75 kilometres per hour, the centre said.

The National Steering Committee for Disaster Prevention and Control requested localities from Quang Ninh to Binh Thuan provinces and the ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development, National Defence, Transport, and Foreign Affairs to inform vessels at sea about the location and movements of the storm to guide them out of any dangerous zones.

Localities and ministries were told to keep regular contact with ships, prepare rescue forces in case of distress and frequently report to the steering committee.

As of 6 am on June 21, central Da Nang city and Quang Nam, Binh Dinh and Khanh Hoa provinces had notified 22,651 ships with 96,430 people on board about the storm, the steering committee said.

VNA