Urgent response to rain, floods in the Central Central region

People and authorities of Da Nang City, Hue City, and Quang Tri City have proactively responded to storm No. 12, from stockpiling necessities, preparing shelters, to activating full force with prevention plans.

Early response

On October 22, Da Nang City only had scattered rain. In the city center, the “high-rise effect” made it difficult for people to travel by motorbike. However, the reporter’s records showed that people had proactively stocked up on necessities, preparing to cope with the storm.

Bach Hoa Xanh Supermarket on Nguyen Thi Dinh Street (An Hai Ward) has seen a sudden increase in customers, especially at the vegetable, meat and seafood counters. Staff are constantly replenishing stock but many items are still not enough to meet demand. The shopping atmosphere at An Hai Bac Market is equally bustling. Some people have to get up at 4am to go to the market early because the supermarkets had almost sold out of food the night before.

According to Mr. Nguyen Xuan Tuan, Head of Hoa Cuong Wholesale Market Management Board, on the morning of October 22, the amount of vegetables and tubers arriving at the market was about 250 tons. The price of vegetables and tubers increased by about 2,000 VND/kg depending on the type. The number of people coming to supermarkets to buy has decreased compared to October 21, but purchasing power has still increased sharply compared to normal days.

Mr. Le Quang Thanh, Deputy Director of Co.opmart Da Nang Supermarket, said that on October 21 and the morning of October 22, the number of customers doubled compared to normal days. Despite the strong increase in purchasing power, Co.opmart still kept prices stable and implemented many promotional programs to help people shop with peace of mind and cope with the storm.

Many schools in Da Nang City have also proactively prepared storm shelters. The University of Education (Da Nang University) has arranged dormitories, drinking water, instant noodles, and essential items to welcome students and residents when needed. At Vo Thi Sau Primary School (Hai Chau Ward), the school opened its gates for residents to park their cars and motorbikes to avoid flooding completely free of charge. Outside the school yard, 10 classrooms are also arranged as temporary shelters for about 200 residents when needed.

Due to the complicated developments of the storm, on the morning of October 22, the Department of Education and Training of Da Nang City allowed all students to stay home from school from the afternoon of October 22 to the end of October 23. Schools were required to ensure the safety of boarding and semi-boarding students in border and mountainous areas.

On the same day, Mr. Nguyen Tan, Director of the Department of Education and Training of Hue City, said that all students were given a day off from school from the afternoon of October 22 to avoid the storm. At the same time, the final program of the Road to Olympia on October 26 will be moved from Nghinh Luong Dinh (outdoor) to the Song Huong Theater (No. 1 Le Loi, Thuan Hoa Ward) to ensure safety.

Full Power Activation

Heavy rains in recent days have caused serious landslides on the main road leading to Tay Giang border gate (Da Nang). In particular, at Cha Noc intersection on Highway 14D, about 4km from the border gate, near the turn to Atu village, thousands of cubic meters of rock and soil suddenly fell down, blocking the road, completely cutting off traffic.

According to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, Da Nang is at risk of flooding, with 27 communes and wards at risk of serious flooding and 31 communes and wards at risk of flash floods and landslides. From the evening of October 22 to 27, there may be widespread heavy rain, accompanied by whirlwinds, lightning and strong gusts of wind.

Mr. Tran Nam Hung, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Da Nang City, said that although the storm is expected to weaken when it reaches the shore, the risk of urban flooding and landslides in mountainous areas is very high. 3 forward command posts have been set up in key areas. The city has also completed regulating 121 reservoirs, maintaining low water levels to proactively cut floods when needed. About 50 small boats, hundreds of rescue vehicles, and more than 1,000 life jackets have been distributed. Regarding the evacuation of people, by the afternoon of October 22, mountainous localities had evacuated dozens of households in areas at risk of landslides to intermingle with households or gather at schools and offices. Military, police, and militia forces have been mobilized to be on duty, ready to support in case of incidents.

At Tho Quang fishing port, by noon on October 22, 673 boats from Da Nang and other provinces had safely anchored. Mr. Le Ngoc Quang, Secretary of the Da Nang City Party Committee, directly inspected the storm prevention and control work, requesting the border guards to strictly control and absolutely not let boats return to the danger zone.

On the same day, Colonel Phan Dai Nghia, Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of Military Region 5, inspected the response to storm No. 12 at the residential area on Me Suot Street (Hoa Khanh Ward), Hoa Son Cemetery and the evacuation area for people in flooded areas at the University of Education (University of Danang).

Authorities and people build temporary embankments to reinforce Hoi An beach (Da Nang city) before storm No. 12 makes landfall.

In Hoi An city, authorities mobilized hundreds of people and vehicles to build temporary embankments to prevent coastal erosion in Hoi An Tay ward, ensuring safety for residents and tourists when the storm makes landfall.

On October 22, the People's Committee of Quang Ngai province established two inspection teams for storm, flood and landslide response, chaired by Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Hoang Giang and Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Do Tam Hien, to inspect the communes and wards of Ba Vinh, Tinh Khe, Truong Quang Trong and An Phu.

In Quang Tri, the Border Guard Station at Cua Viet Port promptly rescued two fishing boats that were sunk by large waves due to their anchors breaking while they were taking shelter from the storm in the area of ​​the Thach Han River embankment. On the same day, people in Da Nang and Hue City moved their cars to higher ground to avoid flooding and protect their property.

New tropical depression

According to Mr. Mai Van Khiem, Director of the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, in the early morning of October 23, the storm center was nearly 100km east-northeast of Da Nang City and had decreased to level 8. After that, the storm continued to weaken into a tropical depression (ATNĐ) on October 23 while moving into the Central mainland (center is Da Nang City).

On the afternoon of October 22, the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting warned that a tropical depression had appeared in the sea east of Taiwan (China). This tropical depression is moving rapidly in the southwest direction at a speed of 20-25 km/hour. The Vietnam Meteorological Agency said that within 24 to 48 hours (from the afternoon of October 22), the tropical depression will move in the south-southwest and then southwest direction at a speed of about 20-25 km/hour.

By the afternoon of October 23, the center of the tropical depression was located in the eastern sea of ​​the North East Sea. By the afternoon of October 24, the center of the tropical depression was about 350km east of the Hoang Sa archipelago (special zone) and had a tendency to gradually weaken. After that, the tropical depression continued to move in the West - Southwest direction, traveling 15-20km per hour and gradually weakened into a low pressure area.

On October 22, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam said that there are 3 airports in the area directly affected by storm No. 12, including: Phu Bai, Da Nang and Chu Lai. The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam has requested airports to deploy safety plans; airlines to proactively adjust their operating plans and promptly inform passengers to limit the impact.

On the same day, Vietnam Airlines announced that it had canceled 8 flights between Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang. At the same time, 9 flights between Hanoi and Hue, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang had to take off about 2 hours earlier than the original schedule; 2 flights between Ho Chi Minh City and Hue had to be changed to the morning of October 23. On October 23, the airline announced the cancellation of 2 flights between Da Nang and Hanoi and Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City. Due to the impact of storm No. 12, a series of domestic and international flights were also affected.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has just signed an official dispatch requesting ministries, branches and localities to focus on preventing, avoiding and responding to floods, inundations, flash floods and landslides in the Central Central region.

The Prime Minister requested the leaders of the provinces and cities of Ha Tinh, Quang Tri, Hue, Da Nang, and Quang Ngai to continue to direct the implementation of work to ensure safety for ships and vehicles operating at sea, avoiding damage to people and property due to negligence and subjectivity in the direction of the authorities and the response of the people. Localities continue to review and identify areas at risk of deep flooding, flash floods, landslides to proactively evacuate, ensure the safety of people's lives, and at the same time guide and support people to move or deploy measures to protect property and limit damage.

The Minister of Industry and Trade directs the safety of hydroelectric dams, power systems and industrial production, and limits damage caused by storms and floods. The Ministers of National Defense and Public Security direct the deployment of forces and vehicles in vulnerable areas, ready to support localities in evacuating residents, responding to floods and conducting rescue operations when required.

PV GROUP

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/khan-truong-ung-pho-mua-lu-ngap-lut-tai-trung-trung-bo-post819422.html