In an urgent telegram on September 28, the committee asked provinces and relevant ministries and sectors to cooperate closely with air, naval and borderguard forces to instruct fishing vessels to return to storm shelters, evacuate people in areas prone to landslides and flash floods and work around the clock to cope with emergencies.  

Typhoon Xangsane, the sixth of its kind in Vietnam this year, is moving west and north-west with winds gusting up to 133kph and is expected to strike the central coast in less than 48 hours.

Xangsane swept through the Philippines on September 27, killing at least five people.