Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung (standing) speaks at the meeting on Typhoon Goni response on November 2 (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) - Deputy Prime Minister TrinhDinh Dung on November 2 asked authorised agencies and coastal localities toimmediately direct vessels at sea to move to safe shelter and to evacuatepeople from aquatic farms at sea and at-risk areas to avoid the worst of TyphoonGoni, the 10th storm to appear in the East Sea this year.
He made the request at a meeting to identify measuresto respond to the typhoon, forecast to bring torrential rains to Vietnam’s centralregion which is currently struggling to overcome the consequences of the recentdevastating floods.
After hitting the southern part of Luzon island in thePhilippines on November 1, killing at least 10 people and displacing over390,000, Goni is predicted to make landfall in Vietnam on November 5. At 7 am onOctober 3, the storm is forecast be about 300 km east-southeast of Vietnam’sHoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago and will continue to move west-northwest at a speedof 15-20 km/h.
Deputy PM Dung, who is also head of the NationalSteering Committee for NaturalDisaster Prevention and Control, told localities to brace for the storm and, atthe same time, continue to overcome the consequences of recent naturalcalamities.
It is necessary to ensure safety at reservoirs,irrigation systems, and dyke networks, he stressed, asking public security andmilitary forces to work closely with localities in preparing against TyphoonGoni and addressing the consequences, especially in search and rescue efforts.
He urged the Ministry of Natural Resources andEnvironment to soon complete a map on areas with a high risk of landslides andflooding.
When discussing the recent devastating landslides,Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Le Cong Thanh said that amap for northern and north-central localities has been made for the 2019-2020period.
The ministry will this year work closely with relevantagencies and central Quang Nam and Quang Ngai provinces to expand the map.
Earlier, on October 31, the national committee sent a dispatch to steering committeesin cities and provinces from Thanh Hoa south to Khanh Hoa, asking for a strengtheningof measures to respond to Typhoon Goni.
According to Major General Le Quang Dao, ViceCommander and Chief of Staff of the Border Guard High Command, the force hasgiven guidelines on avoiding the storm to 49,585 fishing vessels with 233,327crew members, including 1,255 vessels now at sea with 12,767 fishermen onboard.
Thirty border guard bases have been moved to safer locations,he said, while 1,876 others have prepared plans to minimise losses.
At the meeting, the national committee reported that, as of 6 am on November 2, Molave, theninth storm to appear in the East Sea this year, had killed 33 people and left 49 others missing,while flooding 15,848 houses./.
VNA
