Storm No. 5 has strengthened to level 12, with a wide range of impacts, risk of heavy rain, flooding and casualties. In this urgent situation, the Ministry of Health requested the entire health system from Quang Ninh to Gia Lai to activate response plans, ensuring the safety of people's lives and health.
On the afternoon of August 24, the Department of Medical Examination and Treatment Management issued an urgent dispatch, emphasizing the responsibility of local health departments leaders to be on duty 24/7 to announce a hotline, monitor all hospital operations, ensure smooth communication and timely emergency treatment.
Provincial and central hospitals are required to prepare at least 2 mobile emergency teams, with clear assignments of tasks, continuous combat, and ready to mobilize when ordered.
In particular, for hospitals located in the eye of the storm, the Ministry of Health directs:
Develop a plan to evacuate patients and medical equipment to a safe place; bring seriously ill patients, ventilators, and resuscitation vehicles to higher floors.
Supplement medicine and emergency equipment for injuries in case of collapse, burial, or mass casualties.
Proactively build field rescue stations in high-altitude areas to avoid flooding.
Mobilize all human resources, classify victims to prioritize emergency care, and at the same time, divert traffic to prevent the disease from spreading through the respiratory and digestive tracts.
Localities that must urgently deploy storm prevention and response work include: Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, Hung Yen, Ninh Binh, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue, Da Nang, Quang Ngai and Gia Lai. Units are responsible for reporting as soon as an emergency situation occurs so that the Ministry of Health can promptly coordinate resources.
Storm No. 5 increased to level 7 after only 2 days, gusting to level 16, heading towards the mainland
According to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, on the afternoon of August 24, the center of storm No. 5 was at 17.6 degrees north latitude; 109.9 degrees east longitude, about 470km from Nghe An, 450km from Ha Tinh and 390km from Quang Tri. The strongest wind is level 13-14 (134-166km/h), gusting to level 16 and is likely to strengthen.
Mr. Hoang Phuc Lam - Deputy Director of the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting - said that when it first entered the East Sea on the evening of August 22, the storm was only at level 6-7. By the morning of August 23, it had strengthened into a storm, and by the afternoon of August 24, it had increased by 7 levels, reaching level 13-14.
It is forecasted that by 4:00 a.m. on August 25, the storm will enter the southern Gulf of Tonkin, with winds of level 13-14, gusting to level 16. At around noon and afternoon tomorrow, the storm's eye is likely to make landfall in the provinces from Thanh Hoa to northern Quang Tri with strong winds of level 11-12, gusting to level 14.
The danger zone is determined to be from 16 to 20 degrees north latitude, west of the longitude 110-112 degrees east longitude. The level 4 natural disaster risk applies to the coast and mainland from Thanh Hoa to Quang Tri. It is expected that by the afternoon of August 26, the storm will weaken into a tropical depression when it moves deep into Laos.
