As a tropical low-pressure system is continuing to develop, agencies must closely monitor the situation so that captains and owners of vessels receive timely notification of its progress in order to avoid dangerous areas.

As a tropical low-pressure system is continuing to develop, agencies must closely monitor the situation so that captains and owners of vessels receive timely notification of its progress in order to avoid dangerous areas.— Photo nchmfnews.com

Trần Quang Hoài, head of the committee’s Việt Nam Disaster Management Authority under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, directed relevant agencies and localities to prepare for the possibility that low-pressure system may become a storm at an urgent meeting yesterday morning.

Hoài asked the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting to provide timely forecasts and warnings on the tropical low-pressure system for the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control as well as news agencies and the press.

Vietnam Television, Radio Voice of Vietnam, news agencies and local newspapers were requested to increase reports on the tropical low-pressure’s progress, he said.

At the same time, he ordered the concerned agencies to continue monitoring vessels still operating in the sea and maintain regular communications with their owners to deal with any possible situations.

Local authorities should take the initiative to safeguard tourists on the islands, he said.

Trần Dương Kiên from the High Command of the Border Guard said that as of 6am yesterday the border guard at coastal provinces and cities had coordinated with local authorities to advise 51,566 ships with more than 248,000 labourers to move out of dangerous zones.

Earlier on Sunday, central provinces of Thừa Thiên-Huế, Đà Nẵng and Quảng Ngãi banned fishing boats from going offshore.

According to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, the tropical low-pressure system is forecast to move north at speed of between 5-10km per hour and is likely to become a storm. Strongest winds near its centre are estimated to reach 60-75km per hour.

Heavy rains and cyclones might occur on the waters off the coast of central and southern regions from the provinces of Cà Mau to Kiên Giang and the Gulf of Thailand.

According to An Giang Province’s Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, a landslide occurred at a bank of Ông Chương River, affecting an area 50m in length and 4m in width.  Local government has called on residents to evacuate their property to safe areas and erect signals to prevent vehicles from entering the dangerous zones.

Regarding the 2,000 tourists stranded on Lý Sơn Island, Quảng Ngãi Province, as passenger boat services have been suspended due to rough seas, Lý Sơn District’s authorities said they would mobilise seven high-speed ships to take the tourists back to the mainland if the weather was favourable.

Local authorities also asked restaurants and hotels on the island to support passengers during their stay.

Thousands of hectares of paddy rice in the 2018 summer-autumn crop in the central province of Quảng Ngãi were severely damaged.

Đặng Ngọc Thắng, deputy head of Mộ Đức District’s Agricultural and Rural Development sub-department, said heavy rains over the past few days have inundated 1,700 hectares of rice fields. Many areas are covered in water up to 1m deep.

The department has instructed cooperatives to mobilise forces and machines to speed up drainage, limiting the affected area. — VNS