Vietnam has closed schools, airports and airports, evacuated thousands of people, and powerful typhoon swordfish landed on Monday, threatening the country’s northeast with destructive winds and storm surges.
The typhoon knocked down trees and immersed China’s South Hainan Island on Sunday before moving overnight through the Gulf of Tonkin at a sustained wind speed of 166 kph (103 mph) (103 mph).
More than 40,000 people were evacuated in a lowland coastal community on Monday morning. According to the state-run VN Express. The provincial Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reports that residents are being told not to leave their homes from 11am to 6pm local time.
The marlin is the fifth typhoon to hit Vietnam this year, and is the most powerful, maintaining a strong temper towards the coast.
Vietnam’s national media said ahead of the landfall, Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Ching warned that the storm could unleash heavy rains, flash floods and landslides.
“This is a very dangerous and fast storm,” the government said in a statement Sunday night, Reuters reported.
Marlins are expected to land in the central province of Tan Hua and nghe in the late afternoon evening local time either as a weak typhoon or a strong tropical storm. Thanh Hoa is approximately 166 kilometers (103 miles) south of Hanoi.
Officials compared the typhoon to Typhoon Yagi, the most powerful storm last year, devastated the north of Vietnam, killing about 300 people and causing extensive damage to infrastructure, factories and farmland. The goats made landfall, equivalent to a Category 4 hurricane. Marlins are weak, but are expected to pose destructive winds and flood threats.
Images posted by state media show residents and business owners boarded windows and stacked land outside their homes, restaurants and hotels.
On Monday, the country’s Civil Aviation Authority closed airports in two central Vietnam provinces, and Vietnam’s airlines cancelled or delayed dozens of flights as typhoons approached, provincial media reported. Thanh Hoa schools also reportedly closed for two days.
Authorities in the country’s central state on Sunday stimulated emergency measures, according to the VNA.
Typhoon Marlin forces mass evacuation in Vietnam, closing China’s Sanya
More than 300,000 service members were mobilized on standby for the Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force and rescue operations, according to the press.
A storm surge of up to 1.5 metres is predicted at sea level in some areas, which are expected to reach over 3.5 metres, and there is concern for those living in the northeastern and many of the central coast of the lowlands.
Heavy rain and wind from marlins are fearful that storm paths will flood farms and villages, destroy crops and kill livestock.
China’s weather centre said storms will cause heavy rains in 13 provinces in central and northern Thailand as they move inland, increasing the risk of flash floods and landslides. Rain is forecast in some areas between 200 and 400 mm, with isolated areas exceeding 600 mm.
The Joint Typhoon Warning Centre predicts marlins will be weaker on the land and will fall to the intensity of tropical depression by early Tuesday.
Typhoon Marlin passed the southern coast of China’s Hainan Island and parts of Guangdong on Sunday evening. Sanya city on Hainan Island, known for its sandy beaches, luxury resorts and duty-free shopping, has suspended tourist attractions, closed businesses and public transport.
Authorities have energized emergency response as heavy rains and strong winds hit the city and surrounding areas. The video posted on Sanya’s social media showed people falling on a tree, falling across the road in a strong wind, struggling to stand, and in one clip, people on mopeds could be seen trapped under the fallen tree.
Sanya issued the Red Typhoon Alert on Sunday morning – the best in China’s color-coded warning system – and raised emergency response to the most serious levels. The alert was downgraded Monday morning, but heavy rain and storms are expected to continue in the southern South Sea, Reuters reported.
