Localities urged to brace themselves for storm Damrey

The meeting was presided over by Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong, head of the Central Steering Committee on Natural Disaster Prevention and Control.

At 4am on November 3, the eye of the storm was 500km east of the south-central coastal area from Khanh Hoa to Ninh Thuan provinces with wind speeds of 90-100kph.

With the storm impact, provinces from Quang Tri to Binh Thuan have heavy rains on November 3. From November 4-8, floods are likely to occur on rivers from Ha Tinh to Binh Thuan, the Central Highlands and Dong Nai river. Flashfloods, landslides and large-scale floods are predicted to strike provinces from Thua Thien-Hue to Khanh Hoa and northern Central Highlands.

Minister Cuong asked relevant agencies to pay more attention to safeguard reservoirs, operate them according to the process and make round-the-clock check to prevent incidents.

Border guards of Khanh Hoa and Binh Dinh provinces should immediately call on 40 fishing vessels which are working at sea to go onshore and ban fishing boats from heading out to sea.

Localities are required to implement preventive measures and evacuate local residents out of dangerous areas, said Minister Cuong.

There will be an online meeting between the Central Steering Committee on Natural Disaster Prevention and Control and provinces which are affected by Storm Damrey on the afternoon of November 3.