About 30,000 to be evacuated due to Storm Talim

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang chairs a meeting on storm response with ministries, agencies and localities on July 17 (Photo: VNA)

Northern coastal localities from Quang Ninh to Ninh Binh have planned to evacuate about 30,000 people due to Talim, the first storm to hit Vietnam this year, which is to make a landfall on July 18.

Thai Binh province is evacuating the most with over 19,000 people from dangerous and aquaculture areas.

The evacuation order was announced at the online meeting between the National Steering Committee for Natural Disasters Prevention and Control and 27 localities in northern and north-central regions on July 17.

The meeting was chaired by Deputy Prime Minister (PM) Tran Luu Quang who is also head of the steering committee and head of the National Committee for Search and Rescue of Vietnam.

According to the Border Guard Command, as of 6 am on July 17, 52,188 vessels with over 226,000 people had been informed about the storm's movements and direction. Now, no vessel is reported to operate in dangerous areas.

There are 553 vessels and inland watercraft operating in the area from Quang Ninh to Nghe An and all of them have received information about the storm.

As of 6 pm on July 16, there were a total of 17,414 tourists staying on the islands of Quang Ninh and Hai Phong.

The provinces of Quang Ninh, Thai Binh, and Nam Dinh ban vessels from heading to or operating in the sea from July 17 noon while Hai Phong is to start the ban from 7 pm the same day. Other localities continue to follow the storm's development to consider proper actions based on their actual situations.

The movement direction of storm Talim (Photo: VNA)

Mai Van Khiem, director of the National Centre for Hydrometeorological Forecasting, said Talim can be one of the strongest storm to hit Vietnam’s northern region in the last three to five years.

In the morning and afternoon of July 18, the storm will directly affect Vietnam’s mainland, Khiem said.

The northern part of the East Sea will experience winds with a velocity of up to 88 km per hour or even higher.

Heavy rains during and after the storm can cause the biggest danger, especially for the northern mountainous provinces, as they can cause flash floods and landslides, Khiem said.

Deputy PM requested the localities to well implement the PM’s direction on storm prevention and control issued on July 16, ordering them to coordinate with each other properly before, during, and after the storm to minimise its damage.

VNA