At a meeting of the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control Sunday morning, Thanh said that while storm Lionrock has weakened into a tropical depression, storm Kompasu is likely to hit as thousands of migrants are returning to their hometowns amidst a pandemic.

"It will be very dangerous if we let people go hungry or travel without preparation," Thanh said.

The Deputy PM suggested that the committee assigns responsibilities to localities, requiring them to be careful, noting: "...if the storms hit locations where people are traveling, how will they have shelter?"

He said localities need to carefully discuss solutions amid the flow of people moving around in pandemic times.

Localities may have made some plans, but if they are not careful, they may miss on other possible solutions needed, he added.

Workers from southern provinces travel to their hometowns, Oct. 6, 2021.
Photo by VnExpress/Nguyen Dong

The aim is not to prevent people from returning to their hometowns, but to help them proactively make plans needed to remain safe. Localities that National Highway 1 runs through need to establish stations helping travelers go through flooded areas, Hiep said.Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Hoang Hiep said at the meeting that he has asked provinces and cities including HCMC, Long An, Dong Nai and Binh Duong to inform people about disaster risks in the central province of Ha Tinh and other northern localities over the next ten days, especially in flood-prone spots on National Highway 1 that connects the north and south of the country.

Senior Colonel Nguyen Hong Nguyen, Deputy Chief of the Office of the Ministry of Public Security, said that the police have recorded about 26,000 workers returning to their hometowns from southern provinces on National Highway 1 and Ho Chi Minh Road.

"The flow of people returning home will continue. We have instructed provincial police to stop all movement of people from the south amid storms’ impacts," Nguyen said, suggesting that provinces use communal houses to shelter people.

Deputy PM Le Van Thanh at the meeting on Oct. 10, 2021.
Photo by VnExpress/Gia Chinh

Provincial police forces have now mobilized 3,000 soldiers and 8,000 vehicles to monitor more than 2,000 critical traffic points and support people returning to their hometowns.

This morning, storm Lionrock weakened into a tropical depression, according to Mai Van Khiem, director of the National Center for Hydro-Meteorology Forecasting.

From now until the end of Oct. 11, the storm turned depression will cause downpours in the northeast region and Thanh Hoa Province with average rainfall of 150-200 mm that can go up to more than 250 mm in some locations. The northwest region is likely to receive rainfall of 50-100 mm. Provinces from Nghe An to Quang Binh should expect 100-150 mm of rain, and over 150 mm in some places.

Meanwhile, on the morning of Oct. 12, Kompasu will become the eighth storm to enter the East Sea.

Khiem said that Kompasu will move fast, at about 20-25 kph.

"When passing through the Paracel Islands, due to the influence of cold spell, the storm will weaken before entering the sea near Vietnam. The highest probability is that the storm will hit the Red River Delta and north-central region on Oct. 13-14," Khiem said.