Northern, central provinces prepare for supertyphoon Noru arrival

Northern and central provinces have been told to prepare for supertyphoon Noru, which is heading in a northwest direction with wind speeds of up to 183 km per hour.

The typhoon is set to enter Vietnam's East Sea later Sunday, becoming the fourth to hit the country in 2022.

Noru was about 250 km off Luzon Island in the Philippines at 10 a.m. Sunday, with wind speeds of 167-183 km per hour, according to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

By 10 a.m. Monday, it will be about 740 km off the Paracel (Hoang Sa) Islands with wind speeds slowing to 134-149 km per hour.

All vessels working in the danger zone are at high risk of strong winds, high waves and tornadoes. The disaster risk is at three level (five is the highest).

By 10 a.m. Tuesday, the typhoon will be about 140 km off the Paracel Islands and its wind speed is forecast to be 134-140 km per hour.

Parts of the South China Sea are already seeing the effects, with strong gusts and waves of between six to eight metres high.

Thua Thien-Hue province, home to more than 2,000 fishing ships with about 11,350 fishermen, banned Sunday morning all vessels from going to sea.

The provincial port authorities are working to ensure safety for ships anchored in Thuan An and Chan May ports.

Residents are being moved to safety, with priority given to children, the elderly, pregnant women and disabled people. There are also plans to move 26,255 households with 99,424 people in case of flooding.

The provincial Department of Industry and Trade has prepared 100 tonnes of noodles and 100 tonnes of rice to serve people in need.

The central province has 56 irrigation reservoirs and 12 hydropower reservoirs with a total capacity of about two billion cubic metres. Currently, the water level in the reservoirs is safe, and the reservoirs are ready to take on flood water.

Nghe An province has witnessed heavy rain over recent days, causing flooding of agricultural and aquatic areas, and landslides in some mountainous areas.

In Phu Yen, the provincial natural disaster committee sent letters Sunday to localities and concerned organizations asking for preparations ahead of the typhoon. Heavy rain since Saturday evening submerged some low areas in Song Cau town.

Localities have been told to closely monitor forecasts and bulletins, while keeping search and rescue forces ready for deployment.

The Phu Yen Border Guard Command said that it had 396 fishing boats with 2,377 workers. Of this, 294 are fishing vessels with 1,799 seamen working offshore, and 102 are fishing boats with 578 workers working near shore. All of them have received information about the supertyphoon.

The Quang Tri natural disaster committee said that all 2,397 boats with 6,569 crew members in the province had received information about typhoon Noru. The central province has 126 dams with a total capacity of over 260 million cubic metres.

Quang Tri asked localities to reinforce houses, schools, healthcare centres, offices and ensure the power grid system’s safety in strong winds.