Hanoi/Beijing: Vietnam has announced plans to evacuate more than half a million people and ordered boats to stay as it braces for an intensifying Typhoon Kajiki, which is due to make landfall on Monday.
Kajiki – which can mean spearfish or swordfish in Japanese – is likely to strengthen, with wind speeds as high as 180km/h predicted, China’s weather forecaster said.
A satellite image shows Kajiki passing China’s southern coastline. Credit: JMA
In Vietnam, more than 586,000 people will be moved from the central provinces of Thanh Hoa, Quang Tri, Hue and Danang, which lie in the storm’s projected path, authorities said.
People in the affected areas were told to stay inside after 11pm Hanoi time on Sunday, and the government said soldiers were standing by to help. Seven coastal provinces in Vietnam banned boats from leaving shore earlier on Sunday, Tien Phong newspaper reported.
Vietnam Airlines cancelled at least 22 flights to and from central cities on Sunday and Monday. Vietjet Aviation said it was cancelling or delaying flights but did not provide details.
The Vietnamese government likened the strength of Kajiki to that of Yagi, which battered the country less than a year ago, killing about 300 people and causing $5.1 billion of property damage.
Worst-case scenarios
China’s weather agency forecast heavy rainfall and strong winds in Hainan and nearby Guangdong province and Guangxi region, with areas in Hainan set to receive as much as 320 millimetres of rain from Sunday to Monday.
About 20,000 people were evacuated from potentially hazardous areas ahead of the storm, China’s official Xinhua News Agency said.
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