Tropical storm veers along Vietnam coast

Hundreds of fishermen are in the path of a storm nearing central Vietnam that is forecast to bring heavy rain to coastal provinces and the nearby highlands coffee belt, the government said on Sunday August 5. Rains in the region last week have already brought floods to Daklak province, forcing the evacuation of more than 1,500 people, while in the central highland province of Lam Dong a girl was killed and a woman was swept away by flood water.
The storm, centred 60 km (37 miles) east of the central province of Binh Dinh early on Sunday, was threatening 625 fishermen. A further 90,000 fishermen have been warned to take shelter or sail out of the path of the storm, which was expected to move northwest along the coast.
The storm was forecast to dump heavy rains in five coastal provinces from Quang Tri to Binh Dinh and Da Nang city on Monday while flash floods and landslides could hit the Central Highlands which produces 80 percent of Vietnam’s coffee output. Daklak alone produces one third of Vietnam’s coffee.
While more than 6,000 hectares (14,800 acres) of rice and corn in Daklak have been damaged, traders said last week’s rains did not affect the coffee crop as green cherries were still developing and harvesting will not start until late October.
The rains expected from the storm would bring relief to farmers in coastal provinces where dry weather in recent weeks has damaged more than 30,000 hectares of rice, officials said. The central region is not a key rice-growing area.
Oil and gas production in Vietnam, Southeast Asia’s third-largest producer of crude oil, would not be affected by the storm as all the oil rigs and facilities are located south of its path.
Tropical storms and typhoons often strike the Southeast Asian country between August and October. Last year 10 storms hit Vietnam where about 500 people were killed by floods and landslides, government figures show.
Time Position Strength
GMT Lead Lat Long Peak Wind Cat
5 Aug, 18:00 0 hrs 15.0 N 109.1 E 25 kts TD

 

Category: Society