Thua Thien – Hue provincial authorities directed local fishing vessels on the East Sea and aquaculture workers on Tam Giang lagoon to take shelter on land.
A ban on offshore fishing in the days following the storm was issued, while staff at the local Centre for Storm and Flood Prevention and Rescue were ordered to closely monitor the movement of the storm.
Rescue staff and border guards were asked to evacuate families from coastal areas of Hai Duong and Thuan An, where there exists a high risk of erosion.
In Hue city, construction contractors and workers were requested to take safety measures and urban tree management teams were deployed to cut branches from old trees.
The authorities also ordered that water be released from power plant reservoirs, both for safety reasons before the storm and to prevent flash floods after the storm hits.
Around 75,000 fishing vessels with anchorage in coastal localities have been apprised of the storm's movement.
In the meantime, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat sent an urgent message to coastal provinces and cities from Thanh Hoa to Khanh Hoa on November 3.
In the message, he ordered provinces and cities to inform offshore fishing vessels to avoid dangerous zones and find safe harbour, especially fishing vessels near the south-eastern part of the Hoang Sa (Paracel) islands.
Minister Phat also required rescue forces and facilities to prepare for storm-related emergencies.
Speaking at a meeting on November 3, Director Bui Minh Tang of the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting said the storm had weakened and changed direction.
It is now heading towards central coastal provinces between Thua Thien – Hue to Binh Dinh, he said.
Tang also said that when the storm makes landfall, up to 300mm of torrential rain will lash central, Central Highlands and southern provinces.
At 7am on November 4, the eye of the storm was about 190 kilometres north of the Hoang Sa (Paracel) Archipelago, with wind speeds ranging from 62-74 kilometres per hour.
The storm is moving southwest at 25-30 kilometres per hour, causing rough waters in the northern part of the East Sea, and off the coast of provinces from Quang Binh to Quang Ngai.
