Vietnam braces for impact of powerful Typhoon Molave

Typhoon Molave, the ninth storm to hit the East Sea this year, at 08:00 a.m. on October 26 was passing through the northeastern part of Song Tu Tay island belonging to the Truong Sa archipelago, with winds reaching maximum speeds of 135 kph.

Over the course of the next 24 hours the typhoon is expected to move west with winds up to 150 kph near its eye. Molave is forecast to sustain its strength and batter Vietnam’s central coast on October 28 before weakening into a tropical low depression.

Typhoon Molave had originally struck the Philippines early on October 26, forcing approximately 25,000 people in the Bicol region to flee their homes amid the prospect of landslides and flash floods occurring.

In response, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc chaired an urgent online meeting on October 26 to devise plans to mitigate the impact of the storm.

At the meeting, Mai Van Khiem, director of the National Centre of Hydro-meteorological and Forecasting, noted, “this is an especially powerful storm”, due to the possibility that it cause sea levels to rise by between 8-10m, and between 5-7m when it moves near the coast.  

The typhoon is anticipated to dump roughly 200 mm to 350 mm of heavy rain on north and north-central provinces from October 27 to October 29, according Khiem.

He warned central provinces stretching from Nghe An to Quang Binh about the prospect of 500-700 mm of rain, in addition to possible flashfloods and landslides occurring in mountainous areas.

Evaluating the situation of “subsequent storms” and “subsequent floods” in central Vietnam, PM Phuc requested that localities keep a close watch on the developments of Typhoon Molave and make the best preparations possible.

He asked localities to be affected by Typhoon Molave to act quickly in order to evacuate residents from low-lying and flood-prone areas to a higher ground in order to protect their lives. He also asked them to put rescue forces on standby in order for them to be deployed in the event of an emergency.

PM Phuc also expressed concerns about the possible recurrence of flashfloods and landslides which have claimed the lives of 130 people over the past three weeks.

“I requested localities not hold meetings in the coming days, except for urgent ones, to deal with Typhoon Molave,” the PM said.

According to the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disasters Prevention and Control, Typhoon Molave is as strong as Typhoon Damrey that hit Vietnam in 2017, leading to serious human and material losses.

Typhoon Damrey alone left 123 people dead and missing, 134,000 houses and over 73,000 aquaculture farms damaged, and roughly 2,000 boats sunk. Indeed, material losses amounted to more than VND22 trillion.