Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc presided over a teleconference with local leaders to discuss preparations for Storm Molave, the ninth storm to hit Viet Nam this year. 

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc at the teleconference on preparation for Molave storm 

As the storm is set to hit and make landslide in central Viet Nam in the next few days, authorities planned to evacuate more than 1.27 million people from vulnerable areas to safer places. 

Local leaders were asked to postpone unnecessary meetings to ensure safety for residents, stay in contact with and ask 59,477 fishing vessels with 289,298 workers onboard to find shelter while searching for remaining missing victims and minimize possible losses.  

Director of the National Center for Hydro-meteorology Forecasting Mai Van Khiem was quoted as saying that Molave ​​Storm is an especially powerful cyclone. It was projected to reach Level 12 to Level 13 and affect the Northern, Central, and Southern regions. Storm intensity was forecast to be equivalent to Typhoon Damray that affected Viet Nam in 2017 at the fourth natural disaster risk level.

At around 8 a.m. on Monday the storm was around 650 km east-northeast of Southwest Cay islet, with winds of 135 kph.

For the next 48 hours it will remain on course and reach the sea area between Da Nang and Phu Yen at around 7 a.m. Wednesday. It will continue to pack winds of 150 kph.

In 72 hours, moving at around 20 kph, it will make landfall between Da Nang and Phu Yen, before weakening into a tropical depression.

The ninth tropical storm was forecast to bring heavy rains for central provinces especially Nghe An, Ha Tinh, and Quang Binh with average rainfall level of 500-700 mm from October 27-29./.