Hanoi (VNA) – Localities from the northern to the northern central regions have beenrequested to gear up personnel and equipment for Storm Mulan, which is predicted toenter the Gulf of Tonkin on late August 10.

The Standing Office of the NationalSteering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control held a meeting withministries, sectors, and localities on August 10 to discuss measures to respond to the storm.

Nguyen Van Tien, Deputy GeneralDirector of the Vietnam Disaster Management Authority and deputy chief of the committee’soffice, said as Storm Mulan was forecast to cause heavy rains in many areas, therefore ministries, sectors, and localities need to seriously carry out the officialdispatch issued by the committee on August 9.

They need to monitor vessels workingat sea, keep frequent contact with vessel owners to deal with any circumstancein a timely manner, guide them to seek shelter, and ready personnel andequipment for search and rescue when necessary.

Localities were told to ensure safety for people and assets on islands andaquaculture zones, transportation vessels, as well as tourism and constructionactivities at sea and coastal areas.

Basing on the storm’s developments, they can also impose a ban on activities atsea.

Col. Nguyen Dinh Hung, head of thesearch division at the Border Guard High Command, said as of 6:30am on August10, authorities had guided 52,249 vessels with 228,960 people to move out of dangerousareas and seek shelter. They had also tugged three vessels in distress to safeplaces.

The northeastern coastalprovince of Quang Ninh has also been taking prompt actions to cope with Storm Mulan.

It has banned vessels from operatingat sea since the noon of August 10 and is striving to complete all necessary tasksby 5pm on the day.

Storm Mulan, the second to appear inthe East Sea this year, is heading towards the northern coast. It is forecastto move west - northwest at about 15 - 20km per hour between 4pm on August 10and 4am on August 11, when its centre will be at around 21 degrees North and108.4 degrees East, on the northern waters of the Gulf of Tonkin, about 80km tothe southeast of Quang Ninh’s Mong Cai city. Wind speeds near the storm eye mayreach up to 62 - 74km per hour.

Under the storm’s impact, from August 10 evening to August 12, northern localitiesalong with Thanh Hoa and Nghe An provinces in the northern central region are predictedto experience downpours with rainfall of 100 - 200mm, even over 250mm.

Flash floods and landslides are likelyto occur in mountainous areas while floods in low-lying areas, according to theNational Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting./.