© National Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting Center The expected path of the typhoon
With a speed ofn about 25 km, Son Tinh is the fastest storm that has affected Vietnam in the past 10 years, said agriculture minister Cao Duc Phat who is also head of the Central Steering Board for Flood and Storm Prevention and Control.
The storm is expected to be 160 km east of the coast of Nghe An and Thua Thien-Hue, with winds of 103-132 kph and gusts of over 132 kph this evening, the center reported.
As the storm is moving rapidly and may change its direction, it is difficult to forecast exactly where it will land, Bui Minh Tang, director of the center, said, adding that one of the two following scenarios will take place.
"If the storm will continue moving west-northwest, it will likely strike Quang Binh-Ha Tinh Provinces tonight, Saturday, before weakening and moving to Nghe An and Thanh Hoa. If the storm changes its path, it will hit Nghe An on Sunday morning, October 28," Tang said.
When making a landfall, Son Tinh will cause heavy rains on coastal provinces stretching from Thanh Hoa to Quang Nam and cause rough seas. It will then weaken into a tropical low pressure before dissipating in Laos.
Due to the storm's impacts, from this morning the sea of Hoang Sa (Paracel) Islands, the sea between Quang Tri and Quang Ngai provinces, and the Gulf of Tonkin will be violently rough with winds of 51-75 kph, which will later increase to 76-102 kph. In the area near the storm's eye, the winds will be up to 132 kph.
The coastal region between Thanh Hoa to Thua Thien-Hue provinces will have winds of 63-87 kph, which will increase to 88-117 kph and gusts of over 132 kph in the area near the storm's eye. The region will also have heavy rains, which may cause landsides and flashflood, the center warned.
At yesterday's meeting of the Central Steering Board for Flood and Storm Prevention and Control, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai asked central coastal provinces to take all necessary measures to cope with the coming typhoon.
Deputy PM Hai directed central coastal provinces to inform all fishing vessels at sea, to evacuate people from low-lying areas to higher places for safety reasons, and to put rescue forces on standby to deal with emergency cases.
Yesterday about 38,000 fishing vessels with more than 192,000 fishermen on board were informed of the storm's track and locations of nearby shelters, said the National Committee for Search and Rescue.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has dispatched experts to many central provinces to check their dyke and dam systems.
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