PM chairs urgent meeting ahead of super typhoon Noru landfall
VOV.VN - Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired an urgent meeting on September 27 morning to examine measures against super typhoon Noru which is forecast to make landfall in the coming hours.
The meeting was connected to eight provinces in the central region which are expected to be hardest hit by Noru.
At 7am on September 27, Noru was swirling around the southern part of the Hoang Sa archipelago in Vietnam’s East Sea, about 360km off the central coast, with winds gusting more than 166kph near its centre.
In the next 24 hours, it is anticipated to head towards the central coast of Vietnam and batter the region at midnight on September 27 or early on September 28.
Noru is one of the most powerful storms to hit the central region over the past 20 years, according to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.
Prevention plans must be in place to protect people’s property and life before Noru makes landfall and especially after the storm dissipates, said PM Pham Minh Chinh at the meeting.
The government decided to establish a command based in Da Nang City to direct storm prevention and control.
The meteorological agency issued a red alert – the level four out of the five levels of disaster risk – as super typhoon Noru is heading toward the central coast of Vietnam.
The warning was activated in the coastal localities of Da Nang, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai and Binh Dinh which are forecast to be hit hard by the super typhoon.
The meteorological agency also issued a disaster risk warning at level 3 in Quang Tri, Thua Thien-Hue, Phu Yen, and Kon Tum provinces.
Central provinces are now racing against time to deal with the super typhoon. Relevant forces and people are reinforcing public works, fishing ports, business workshops, tourist landmarks, hospitals and schools.
Central provinces developed plans to evacuate nearly 900,000 residents from estuary, low-lying and mountainous areas. So far, 44,000 people have been assisted to move to higher ground.
Military units planned to deploy more than 240,700 officers and soldiers and over 2,921 vehicles of all kinds to respond to Noru in the coming days.
Several airports in the region suspended flight services ahead of Noru’s landfall.