At 10 a.m. December 19, Rai, the ninth storm of this year’s hurricane season in the East Sea (South China Sea), was about 210km to the east of the central coastal provinces of Binh Dinh and Phu Yen, with gust near the eye of the storm reaching 150-185 km per hour.
The typhoon is forecast to move northwest and then change direction to head west at a speed of 15-20km per hour until December 20.
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Fishing ships sheltering from the storm (Photo for illustration: nld.com.vn) |
By 10 a.m. December 22, Rai will change direction again to move east-northeast at 10-15km per hour, and then weaken into a tropical depression and late a low pressure zone.
As the typhoon approaches, strong wind and torrential rains are expected in the central region, with high-level warnings issued for flooding.
The central province of Quang Nam has seen big rains for the past two days, with more to come until December 21, with total rainfalls ranging from 80mm to 150mm, reaching 200mm in some areas.
The provincial People’s Committee has issued a dispatch directing competent agencies to take measures to alleviate damage from the natural disaster.
Local fishermen have mostly returned to land to take shelter from the storm.
Phu Yen province is also racing to move farmers from floating aquaculture facilities to land while checking on areas vulnerable to erosion.
In the southern province of Bac Lieu, the provincial coast guard command reported that as of December 18 afternoon, 472 vessels with 3,258 fishermen of the province are still operating at sea.
The command has been able to contact 100 percent of owners of those vessels to inform them of the approaching typhoon.
Source: VNA