Vietnam military mobilizes 180,000 personnel, aircraft, ships to cope with storm Tokage
TUOI TRE NEWS
UPDATED : 11/28/2016 11:16 GMT + 7
The Vietnamese military has put nearly 180,000 people, aircraft, ships and other equipment on standby to cope with the influences of a storm forecast to cause rough seas, flood, and land subsidence this week.
About 179,276 soldiers and paramilitary men are now ready to help local governments and residents along the coast to cope with storm Tokage brewing in the East Vietnam Sea.
The military has mobilized 16 ships, 46 boats, five aircraft, 686 cars of multiple types, 33 specialized vehicles, over 1,600 tarpaulin house sets, 30,000 life jackets, and other equipment for any rescue missions.
As of Sunday afternoon, the defense ministry had ordered border soldiers along the coast from Quang Binh Province to Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province to coordinate with local governments and residents to inform 58,000 ships and 380,000 employees of the developments and path of the storm.
Almost 1,200 ships and 10,000 employees are operating in the middle and north of the East Vietnam Sea, including Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Spratly) archipelago. Others are fishing or anchoring along the coast.
Storm Tokage is forecast to weaken to a tropical low-pressure system, causing rough seas in the northern part of the East Vietnam Sea, including Hoang Sa, on Tuesday night, weather forecasters said.
At 7:00 pm on Sunday, the storm was striking an area 650km east of Hoang Sa, packing winds of 75-100km per hour.
The storm will move west-southwestward at 10-15km an hour in the next 24 hours, brewing 380km east of Hoang Sa at 7:00 pm on Monday night. Winds of up to 60-75km per hour are predicted near the storm’s eye.
In the following 24-48 hours, the Tokage will head west-southwestward at 15-20km per hour before weakening to a tropical low-pressure area.
At 7:00 pm on Tuesday night, the center of the low-pressure system will be 260km south of Hoang Sa, carrying winds of up to 40km per hour.
The northern part of the East Vietnam Sea, including Hoang Sa, will be hit by strong winds, rough seas and high waves due to the tropical low-pressure system.
The region from Da Nang City to Khanh Hoa will experience heavy rain from Wednesday to Friday, possibly accompanied by flash floods and land subsidence.
Later, rain will strike the area from Nghe An Province to Thua Thien Hue Province