On the afternoon of September 18, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) held a meeting to respond to the tropical depression in the East Sea that could strengthen into a storm. The meeting was held in person and online with 11 coastal provinces and cities from Ninh Binh to Binh Dinh.

After listening to reports from ministries, sectors and localities on the response situation, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Hoang Hiep said that yesterday, the tropical depression moved at a fairly fast speed but has now slowed down and could strengthen into a storm.

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Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Hoang Hiep speaks. Photo: Dinh Hieu

"We are worried that when the tropical depression moves slowly, it will gain more energy to become stronger, so it is difficult to predict. If storm No. 4 forms, it will have gusts of up to level 10 and cause quite a lot of rain, mainly concentrated in Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue, Da Nang...", the Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development commented.

Deputy Minister Nguyen Hoang Hiep recalled the lessons learned in 2020, when the storm caused a very bad flood.

"Experience from storm No. 3 Yagi shows that before and during the storm, we were very well prepared, but after the storm, heavy rain, landslides, and flooding caused a lot of damage," said Deputy Minister Nguyen Hoang Hiep.

The Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development suggested that ministries, branches and localities focus on calling on boats to come ashore to avoid the storm. At the same time, they need to review the flooding situation and evacuate people, because heavy rains in this area will cause isolation, and forces need to uphold the spirit of "4 on-site".

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People brought boats ashore to cope with the tropical depression that could strengthen into a storm.
Photo: Ha Nam

"The most worrying thing is flooding in urban areas, especially in Thua Thien Hue and Da Nang - where historic floods have occurred. Localities are advised to monitor forecasts to prepare for evacuation," said Deputy Minister Nguyen Hoang Hiep.

He also emphasized the spirit of "it's better to be green at home than to be old in the field" and the need to immediately harvest the rice in the fields... as well as aquatic products in ponds and lakes.

At the same time, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development proposed reviewing lakes, dams, and dikes to avoid unfortunate incidents.

According to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, by 10:00 a.m. on September 19, the tropical depression will intensify into a storm with a level 8 intensity, gusting to level 10, with the center of the storm over the coastal waters from Quang Tri to Quang Nam, about 110km east-southeast of Quang Tri. By the afternoon of the same day, the storm will make landfall in Quang Tri - Quang Nam, then weaken.

It is forecasted that from the evening of September 18 to September 19, from Ha Tinh to Quang Ngai, there will be heavy to very heavy rain from 100 - 300mm, some places over 500mm; Thanh Hoa, Nghe An from 70-150mm, some places over 250mm; Central Highlands from 40-80mm, some places over 150mm.