'Golden time' to deploy measures to respond to storm No. 5

(Chinhphu.vn) - On the morning of August 25, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha held a meeting of the Frontline Steering Committee on responding to storm No. 5 (storm Kajiki), located at the Command Center of Military Region 4, connecting online with the military command points of Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Tri provinces, Hue City, the National Center for Search and Rescue Operations, the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology, and a number of key areas...

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha held a meeting of the Frontline Steering Committee on responding to storm No. 5 (storm Kajiki), located at the Command Center of Military Region 4, connecting online with the military command points of Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Tri provinces, Hue City, the National Center for Search and Rescue Operations, the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology, and several key areas... - Photo: VGP/Minh Khoi

The Deputy Prime Minister requested the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to immediately report on the storm’s intensity and the potential impact on the dike system, and propose solutions to ensure people’s safety. “The safety of people’s lives must be the top priority,” the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized.

Military Region 4 reported on the coordination with localities, especially in Nghe An, Ha Tinh and northern Thanh Hoa – areas forecast to be directly affected and have the strongest winds. The Deputy Prime Minister noted that localities must proactively grasp the situation and immediately propose plans to mobilize forces within the next 3 hours – the “golden time” to deploy response measures.

“According to forecasts, storm No. 5 will begin to affect the mainland at around 11am today, so we don’t have much time to prepare. Immediately after the meeting, forces, units and localities must be divided into groups to focus on resolving each key task,” said the Deputy Prime Minister.

The Deputy Prime Minister assigned the Ministry of National Defense to coordinate with the telecommunications corporations Viettel and VNPT to ensure a smooth communication system to serve command and operation. “With storm No. 5, the most important task is to maintain communication and mobilize forces promptly, not to be passive or surprised,” the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized.

Strongest wind time from 12pm to about 6pm

The National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting said that at 7:00 a.m. on August 25, the storm's center was about 160 km east-southeast of Nghe An, about 145 km east of Ha Tinh, and about 155 km east-northeast of Bac Quang Tri, with the strongest wind at level 14, gusting to level 17. Storm No. 5 is forecast to continue moving west-northwest at a speed of 15-20 km/h.

Winds on the sea from Thanh Hoa - Hue are strong at level 7-9, then gradually increase to level 10-11, near the center level 12-14, gusting to level 17. On land, in the North Thanh Hoa area, there are strong winds at level 8-9, gusting to level 10-11; in the South Thanh Hoa - North Ha Tinh area, there are strong winds at level 10-11, near the storm center level 12-14, gusting to level 15-16 (radius of strong winds above level 12 around the storm center is about 50km); in the South Ha Tinh, Quang Tri, coastal areas of the provinces from Quang Ninh to Ninh Binh, there are strong winds at level 6-8, gusting to level 9-10.

Deep inland in the South Thanh Hoa-Ha Tinh region, about 50-70km from the coast, strong winds of level 8-9, gusts of level 11-12; deeper inland, the part bordering Laos, strong winds of level 6-7, gusts of level 7-8. The strongest wind time is from 12:00 to about 18:00.

Waves are 5-7m high, near the storm center 8-10m; water levels rise from Hai Phong - North Quang Tri 0.5-1.8m; Thanh Hoa and Nghe An 1-1.8m in particular. Sea levels (including rising water): Sam Son (Thanh Hoa) 3.7-4.2m, Hon Ngu (Nghe An) 3.5-4.0m, Cua Nhuong (Ha Tinh) 2.2-2.6m.

From 7:00 p.m. on August 24 to 7:00 a.m. on August 25, the rainfall measured from Thanh Hoa - Hue was generally 20-40mm, some stations had higher rainfall such as: Ky Lam (Ha Tinh) 167mm; Ky Son (Ha Tinh) 155mm; Dong Tam (Quang Tri) 125mm; Son Trach (Quang Tri) 75mm; Trooc (Quang Tri) 68mm. It is forecasted that from the morning of August 25-26, from Thanh Hoa to Northern Quang Tri, the rainfall will be generally 200-400mm, in some places over 700mm; the midlands and deltas of the North, Lao Cai and from Southern Quang Tri - Hue will have rain of 100-150mm, locally over 250mm.

From August 25-28, floods occurred on small rivers, Ca River (Nghe An), Ngan Sau River, Ngan Pho River, La River (Ha Tinh), Gianh River, Kien Giang River, Thach Han River (Quang Tri) at alert levels 2-3 and above alert level 3; Buoi River, upstream Ma River (Thanh Hoa), Bo River, Huong River (Hue) at alert levels 1-2 and above alert level 2; downstream Ma River above alert level 1.

“The safety of people's lives must be put first,” Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha emphasized - Photo: VGP/Minh Khoi

Nearly 30,000 people evacuated

According to the Border Guard's report, the units have notified, counted, and instructed 59,617 vehicles/248,843 people about the storm's developments and direction so that they can proactively avoid it. By 8:00 p.m. on August 24, all fishing boats from Quang Ninh - Hue had returned to shore and anchored, with no vehicles operating at sea. There has been no information about damage to boats due to storm No. 5.

As of 3:00 p.m. on August 24, the area at high risk of incidents due to the impact of storm No. 5 had 131 river-sea vessels with VR-SB registration (including Thanh Hoa 32; Nghe An 27; Ha Tinh - Quang Binh 37; Quang Tri - Hue 35). 8 provinces from Ninh Binh to Quang Ngai have banned the sea. As of 6:00 a.m. on August 24, the provinces from Ninh Binh to Hue had evacuated 9,820 households/29,753 people. Currently, localities are continuing to organize the evacuation of households in dangerous areas.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Nguyen Hoang Hiep said that the entire sea dyke system from Thanh Hoa to Quang Tri is currently designed to withstand storms of level 9-10, with gusts of level 11. However, storm No. 5 is forecast to reach level 11, gusts of level 13-14, exceeding the design threshold. The biggest risk is the phenomenon of seawater overflowing the dyke surface, causing widespread flooding, while the possibility of dyke failure only occurs at a few weak points.

Ha Tinh is identified as the most worrying locality. The Hoi Thong dike (Nghi Xuan) is considered a key and vulnerable point, and residents have been urgently evacuated since yesterday. In addition, some other dikes such as Cam Nhuong, Hai Ha Duong, Cam Trung, and Huu Duc are also in a high-risk area.

Nghe An has many sea dike sections that have not reached the design elevation. Notably, the Dien Thanh dike (Dien Chau) has only reached about 4 meters, lower than the standard, and is likely to overflow when the waves rise 7-8 meters. This is also the area where the storm is expected to make direct landfall, with the eye of the storm possibly entering the Cua Lo - Dien Chau area. In addition, the Quynh Tho and Long Van dikes (Quynh Luu) and the Lao Van and Nghi Tien dikes (Nghi Loc) also need to have their protective measures strengthened.

Thanh Hoa has two high-risk areas: the Quang Nham sea dike (Quang Xuong) with a low elevation of only about 2.8 meters; and the Tinh Gia area (now Nghi Son town) with the Hai Binh and Tinh Chau dikes that can withstand large waves when the storm passes.

The Ministry recommends that localities urgently arrange forces, materials, and vehicles at key locations, and coordinate with the Army to be ready to promptly handle emergency situations.

Units report the situation at the meeting - Photo: VGP/Minh Khoi

Reporting at the meeting, Lieutenant General Ha Tho Binh, Commander of Military Region 4, said that all forces of Military Region 4 maintained 100% on-duty, more than 500 officers and soldiers directly participated in reinforcing the key dike in Nghi Xuan (Ha Tinh); at the same time, together with the people, they reinforced houses and prevented damage. To proactively respond when the storm made landfall, 21 regional defense clusters and 84 border posts in the Military Region had reserved 426 tons of food and essential food (rice, instant noodles, dry food...) to promptly support people in case of isolation. Propaganda and guidance work for people to raise vigilance and ensure their own safety were also widely deployed.

Currently, Military Region 4 has prepared 16,500 officers and soldiers along with 107,000 militiamen to participate in evacuating people, overcoming consequences and responding to the storm. “With a sense of responsibility and many years of experience in natural disaster prevention, the armed forces of Military Region 4 are determined to closely coordinate with localities and promptly deploy response measures according to the direction of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of National Defense.

Chairman of Ha Tinh Provincial People's Committee Vo Trong Hai reports on the storm response situation in the area - Photo: VGP/Minh Khoi

Leaders of central localities said that the work of relocating residents and reinforcing dikes is being urgently implemented, in the context of the risk of strong storms exceeding the design threshold of the sea dike system.

Chairman of the People's Committee of Ha Tinh province Vo Trong Hai said that the evacuation of all 17 coastal communes has been completed, bringing 445 households with 10,134 people to safe places such as schools, commune headquarters and solid structures. However, the Hoi Thong dike (Nghi Xuan) is still a hot spot. More than 600 officers and soldiers along with 500 union members, a total of nearly 1,600 people are focusing on reinforcing it on site. This dike is assessed to have limited endurance, while the storm is forecast to reach level 14, gusting to level 17. The forces have prepared materials, stone cages, and construction equipment, but the locality has requested continued support to ensure safety during the "golden time" before the storm makes landfall.

Nghe An Provincial Party Secretary Nguyen Duc Trung said the province has increased the total number of households that must be evacuated to 10,242 with 39,476 people, an increase of 220 households compared to yesterday. All residents were taken to schools, cultural houses, agency headquarters or relatives' houses in safe areas. The province currently has 82 km of sea dykes, of which 53.3 km have embankments, but they are only designed to withstand level 10 storms. Vulnerable points in Dien Chau, Quynh Luu, Nghi Loc are deploying forces on duty, ready to handle incidents.

In Thanh Hoa province, from last night to early this morning, nearly 1,800 households in areas bordering Nghe An were evacuated and continued to evacuate people in Hoang Hoa, Sam Son, Quang Xuong, Nghi Son, especially those below 200 meters above sea level. The locality also temporarily suspended school for two days, August 25-26, to ensure safety. The province has prepared enough food, food, and drinking water for people at the evacuation sites, and at the same time established a forward command post directly in the area.

According to assessments, the North Central localities are entering an urgent phase, when storm No. 5 is expected to make landfall with an intensity much higher than the current dike system's load-bearing capacity. The work of evacuating people and reinforcing sea dikes continues to be a key task, aiming to minimize damage when the storm makes landfall.

Government Portal continues to update.

Minh Khoi

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/thoi-gian-vang-de-trien-khai-cac-bien-phap-ung-pho-bao-so-5-102250825082614527.htm