The NationalSteering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control directedlocalities and ministries to prepare for the typhoon amid the COVID-19 pandemicin its official dispatch issued on December 16.
The Committeefor Search and Rescue in provinces and cities were required to closely monitorthe typhoon’s developments in order to instruct vessels to find safe shelterand take measures to ensure the safety of people.
The provincialand municipal People’s Committees were tasked with preparing plans to respondto the typhoon, as well as floods and landslides triggered by the typhoon, thenational steering committee said.
Localitiesmust also make plans to evacuate people living in areas at high-risk floods andlandslides, not only to ensure the safety of people but also following pandemicprevention and control regulations. Rescue forces must be ready to cope withflash floods and landslides and provide necessities for people living inislands in emergencies.
Measures mustbe implemented to protect dyke systems and ensure the safety of dams,especially key reservoirs, small hydroelectric reservoirs and works underconstruction or repair.
They mustarrange traffic police to guide traffic, especially through spillways anddeeply-flooded areas, as well as arrange rescue teams and equipment to fix anyincident on the main traffic roads during the typhoon.
The Ministryof Natural Resources and Environment must closely monitor and issue warnings oftyphoon developments, rainfall, flash floods and landslides so that people knowhow to proactively implement response measures.
The Ministryof Industry and Trade was required to ensure the safety of oil rigs at sea; thesafety of reservoirs and dams, the safety of mineral exploration activities andthe safety of power grid system.
The Ministry ofHealth must ensure pandemic prevention and control activities, especially inevacuation areas, as well as prepare a number of medicines and waterpurification chemicals to support localities when required.
The Ministryof Foreign Affairs will send diplomatic notes to countries and territoriesasking them to create conditions for Vietnamese vessels to take shelter andprovide assistance upon request.
The VietnamNews Agency, Vietnam Television, Voice of Vietnam and other press agencies mustquickly and accurately report any typhoon developments.
Data from theNational Centre for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting predicts that the typhoonwill enter the East Sea on December 18. By 7am on December 18, the typhoon willbe about 270km south-east of Song Tu Tay Island, belonging to Truong Sa(Spratly) Archipelago, with wind speeds near the eye reaching 135-150km perhour.
It was movingwest-northwest at around 25-30km per hour, the centre said.
The typhoon,combined with the effects of a cold spell, will cause rough seas and waves of5-7m will appear in the northern part of the East Sea on December 16 night, thecentre said./.