Emergency evacuation of over 571,740 people in response to typhoon Molave

Mai Van Khiem, director of the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting

According to Mai Van Khiem, director of the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, typhoon Molave is currently located in the north and middle of the East Sea, including south of the Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago, and north of the Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago.  The typhoon’s strongest winds close to its eye have reached up to 17 category, while sea waves have risen to a height of between eight and 10 metres high with rough seas.

Most notably, areas ranging from Thua Thien Hue to Quang Ngai are likely to see water levels increase by up to 1.5 metres high triggered by the typhoon, therefore posing a real threat of flooding occurring in low-lying areas.

From the night of October 27 to the morning of October 29, it is anticipated that areas from Thua Thien Hue to Phu Yen will be hit by rainfall ranging from 200 mm to 400 mm, with 500 mm of rain expected to hit Quang Nam. The North Central Highlands will endure between 100 mm and 200 mm of rain, whilst from the night of October 28 to October 31 there will be prolonged spell of rain between Quang Tri and Nghe An due to the post-storm circulation combined with a period of cold air. Indeed, there will be downpours of rainfall from 500 mm to 700 mm in Nghe Tinh, Nghe An, and Quang, Khiem emphasized.

The morning of October 27 saw two working groups of the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control led by Deputy Prime Minister and Head of Steering Committee Trinh Dinh Dung, along with Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development and Standing Deputy Head of the Committee Nguyen Xuan Cuong inspect and direct response efforts. These include taking steps to lessen the impact of the impending typhoon in provinces and cities from Binh Dinh to Da Nang.

Deputy Prime Minister and Head of Steering Committee Trinh Dinh Dung, along with Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development and Standing Deputy Head of the Committee Nguyen Xuan Cuong direct response efforts.

According to the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, Typhoon Molave represents the strongest typhoon since the beginning of the year, meaning that all ministries, sectors, and typhoon-prone localities must strictly implement the direction and urgent telegraphs of the Prime Minister and the Central Steering Committee.

Typhoon Molave will be the fourth storm to hit the nation this month, and the strongest typhoon since the beginning of the year.

This year alone has seen natural disasters, mostly floods and landslides triggered by storms and torrential rains, claim 132 lives and injure 207 individuals nationwide.

As of 6 a.m. on October 27, floods and landslides trigged by heavy rain since October 6 has left 148 people either dead or missing, destroyed 1,009 houses, left 1,418 hectares of rice submerged along with 7,871 ha of crops, and killed or swept away over 834,800 cattle and poultry.