Coastal localities alerted in case Typhoon Bailu changes path

>>> Typhoon Bailu heads towards China, Central Vietnam suffers heavy rains until August 25

On Saturday morning (August 24), the Standing Office of the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control issued a notice to the coastal provinces and cities from Quang Ninh to Binh Dinh and a number of ministries and agencies, urging for response to the storm that is circulating near the East Sea.

According to the latest update from the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, at 1 pm on Saturday afternoon, the location of the storm was at right on the southern part of Chinese Taipei, with the strongest winds blowing at 90-100km/hour.

In the next 24 hours, the storm is forecast to move in a northwest direction, at about 25km every hour, heading to the mainland provinces of Fujian and Guangdong (China). By 1 pm on August 25, the location of the storm is predicted to be in the mainland of the Chinese provinces of Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi, with strongest winds of 60-75km/hour.

Over the next 24 to 48 hours, the storm will move west-northwestward, about 15-20km each hour, going deep into mainland China and weakening into a tropical depression.

To proactively respond to the typhoon, especially in the case of it changing direction to have a greater impact on Vietnam’s waters, the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control urged coastal localities from Quang Ninh to Binh Dinh and the concerned ministries and agencies to regularly monitor the evolution of the storm and promptly inform ship owners to take proactive measures.

In addition, they were also asked to prepare response scenarios and plan rescue operations in case bad situations take place, while promptly reporting to the Standing Office of the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control to deal with incidents and minimise the damage caused by the storm.

According to the national weather service, Ha Tinh and Quang Binh provinces continue to suffer from heavy rains this afternoon with some places having recorded rainfall at over 80mm, posing risks for flash floods, landslides and local flooding, especially in Huong Khe and Ky Anh districts in Ha Tinh and Bo Trach district in Quang Binh.