This afternoon, September 18, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development held an online meeting with provinces and cities from Thanh Hoa to Khanh Hoa to deploy responses to the tropical depression (ATND) that is likely to strengthen into a storm. Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Vo Van Hung, Head of the Provincial Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control and Search and Rescue (PCTT & TKCN); Chairman of the Provincial Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee Dao Manh Hung; Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Hoang Nam attended at the Quang Tri bridge.

Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Vo Van Hung requested local authorities and armed forces to focus on responding to the tropical depression that is likely to strengthen into storm No. 4 - Photo: TT

According to the report of the Department of Dyke Management and Natural Disaster Prevention on the synthesis of response work to the tropical depression, as of 11:00 a.m. on September 18, 66,960 ships/306,725 people had been counted and instructed to know the developments and direction of the tropical depression to proactively move to avoid it. Of which, 75 ships/618 people were operating in the North East Sea and Hoang Sa archipelago. There were no vessels in the danger zone, the vessels in the affected area were moving to avoid it.

According to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, the tropical depression is likely to strengthen into storm No. 4. At 10:00 a.m. on September 19, 2024, the center of the storm is located in the coastal waters from Quang Tri to Quang Nam, about 110 km east-southeast of Quang Tri. The storm is at level 8, gusting to level 10. In the next 24 hours, the storm will move west-northwest at a speed of about 15 km/h, making landfall and gradually weakening.

Concluding the meeting, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Hoang Hiep said that although forecast sources all said that storm No. 4 would not be of great intensity, the most worrying issue was that it would cause quite heavy rain, focusing on the three provinces and cities of Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue and Da Nang. Therefore, localities need to seriously implement the Prime Minister's directive, implement well the plans to limit damage, and absolutely not be subjective or negligent.

Localities are requested to continue calling on ships to enter safe storm shelters, especially small and medium-sized transport ships. Focus on reviewing flood situations, paying attention to urban flooding and having plans to evacuate people and move assets to safe places. In particular, the Central region has many small hydropower plants and reservoirs with gate regulation, so the Department of Irrigation together with localities urgently review all reservoirs and strictly follow operating procedures.

Immediately after the online meeting of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Vo Van Hung deployed solutions to respond to the tropical depression that is likely to strengthen into storm No. 4.

The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee requested the standing agency, members of the command committee, localities and units to continuously follow up on information about the storm's developments. Strictly comply with the direction of the central government and the province to thoroughly grasp and organize implementation, in which special attention is paid to response plans for post-storm circulation causing heavy rain, potential risks of landslides, rising sea levels and flooding.

The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee requested localities to activate disaster prevention plans according to the "4 on-site" motto. Armed forces inspected, grasped the situation and prepared rescue equipment.

Review and arrange forces to control and guide traffic in flooded, flooded, and isolated areas; resolutely do not allow people or vehicles to pass through areas with deep flooding, fast-flowing water, and areas prone to landslides. The education and training sector and localities closely monitor the weather situation to proactively propose to the Provincial People's Committee to decide to let students stay home from school to ensure safety.

Thanh Truc