Storm No. 1 Maysak causes widespread heavy rain in the Northeast region
On the afternoon of July 3, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Nguyen Hoang Hiep chaired a meeting to respond to storm No. 1 and post-storm floods. The meeting was attended by the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, the Department of Dyke Management and Disaster Prevention and Control, and related units to review preparations for response to the storm's developments.
According to the report at the meeting, on the morning of July 1, the low pressure area in the eastern sea area of the central East Sea strengthened into a tropical depression. By early morning of July 3, the tropical depression continued to strengthen into a storm.
Currently, the storm center is in the sea area south of Hainan Island (China), the strongest wind near the storm center is level 8-9, gusting to level 11.
Information at the meeting, Director of the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting Mai Van Khiem said that the storm is operating in a relatively favorable environment to maintain and develop intensity. However, the direction and speed of the storm's movement in the coming days will still depend heavily on the diễn biến of the subtropical high pressure, so the storm's trajectory is still likely to change and forecasts between models are not completely unified.
According to the scenario with the highest probability currently, the storm will move in a North-Northwest direction, passing through the Northern Gulf area before making landfall in the Quang Ninh area and southern Guangxi province (China).
According to the forecast of the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, on the morning of July 4, the storm will enter the Gulf of Tonkin with an intensity of level 8-9, gusting to level 11. By the morning of July 5, the storm is expected to make landfall in Quang Ninh and southern Guangxi province (China), then weaken into a tropical depression.
From the night of July 3rd to the end of July 5th, the Northeast region and Thanh Hoa are likely to experience a widespread heavy rain with common rainfall of 100-200mm; especially the Northeast region from 200-300mm, locally over 500mm.
From July 4th to 7th, on the Lo River, upstream of the Thai Binh River and rivers belonging to Quang Ninh, Lang Son, Cao Bang, Bac Ninh, there is a possibility of a flood, the peak flood at alarm level 1 to alarm level 2, some rivers above alarm level 2.
More than 56,000 vehicles have been guided to avoid shelter, many areas are at risk of being affected
Speaking at the meeting, Director of the Department of Dyke Management and Disaster Prevention and Control Pham Duc Luan said that the National Steering Committee for Civil Defense has issued 3 documents directing response from the formation of a low pressure area in the East Sea, when it strengthens into a tropical depression and when a storm forms.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment has also sent two documents to the People's Committees of provinces and cities with dikes from level III to special level requesting the deployment of work to ensure the safety of the dike system to respond to storm No. 1 and post-storm floods.
According to the Border Guard, functional forces have notified, counted, and guided 56,240 vehicles with 249,184 people to know the developments and direction of the storm to proactively move away from dangerous areas or to safe shelters. By the afternoon of July 3, Quang Ninh, Ninh Binh and Hung Yen had implemented sea ban orders.
For aquaculture, the coastal area from Quang Ninh to Thanh Hoa currently has 140,711ha of aquaculture, 29,066 cages and rafts and 3,251 watchtowers at risk of being affected by storms and floods.
Regarding reservoirs, Tuyen Quang hydropower reservoir is opening a bottom discharge gate from 4:00 PM on July 1st, currently the upstream water level reaches 109.25m, the water inflow to the reservoir has decreased to 1,291m3/s. The Northern region currently has 2,495 irrigation reservoirs, of which 3 are discharging spillways; 77 reservoirs are degraded and 21 are under construction.
The sea dyke routes from Quang Ninh to Thanh Hoa currently have 31 key critical locations and 5 dyke and culvert works under construction in Hung Yen province. In addition, the Northern region currently has 338,351ha of summer rice that is in the new planting, turning green and tillering stage, with the risk of being affected if prolonged deep flooding occurs.
Do not be subjective with early-season storms
Speaking to direct at the meeting, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Nguyen Hoang Hiep emphasized that although storm No. 1 is forecast not to be too strong and the possibility of going deep into the mainland is not high, this is a factor that easily makes local authorities and people subjective in response work.
We are most concerned about subjectivity. The storm is at the beginning of the season, the intensity is not large, the direction does not seem to have a direct impact, so it is very easy to be negligent in response work," the Deputy Minister said.
In addition, the storm appeared right at the weekend, when the number of tourists to coastal localities increased sharply. Therefore, localities need to pay special attention to the management of tourism activities, proactively ban the sea, control ships and boats, and organize the evacuation of tourists when necessary.
In addition, although the storm intensity is not large, the risk of thunderstorms and tornadoes in the storm's circulation is still very worrying. The Deputy Minister requested units to continue to closely monitor storm developments, maintain 24/24 hour duty; strictly manage ships and boats, especially tourist ships; prepare rescue and relief forces; and review plans to evacuate people from dangerous areas, ensure the safety of dikes, reservoirs, construction projects and proactively drain water, protect agricultural production.
