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| Deputy PM Nguyen Sinh Hung at the urgent meeting last night. |
VietNamNet Bridge - The government Friday issued an order asking central provinces from Ha Tinh to Phu Yen to urgently evacuate 46,235 families totaling around 183.140 people from dangerous areas. The task must be completed by 5pm, Saturday, September 30.
The government and the central region are bracing for action as Typhoon Xangsane seems set to hit central provinces from Ha Tinh to Phu Yen by Sunday, October 1.
A government delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung arrived in the central region Friday to supervise preparations for the typhoon, the sixth storm this year, which is forecast to be the strongest in the past ten years.
A front steering committee for Xangsane has been set up, which is based at Bach Dang Hotel, Da Nang City. Each two hours, central provinces must report to the committee the pace of evacuation, the information about fishing vessels that are still offshore.
The first urgent meeting of the front steering committee chaired by Deputy PM Nguyen Sinh Hung was organized on Friday night to discuss measures to cope up with typhoon Xangsane.
One of the biggest problems reported at the meeting is how to make contact with hundreds of fishing vessels that are still offshore.
According to statistics of central provinces, by 4pm on Friday, 112 fishing vessels with 1,259 fishermen have not returned yet, including Binh Dinh with 31 ships (400 fishermen) and Ha Tinh 10 ships (60 fishermen). In addition, the positions of hundreds of fishing vessels of some southern provinces like Ca Mau, Tien Giang and Bac Lieu have not been defined yet.
“I criticize the provinces that don’t know clearly about their fishing boats. They must immediately seek to make contact with those boats tonight,” said the Deputy PM.
He emphasized that each two hours, chairmen of central provinces must report the situation in their provinces to the front steer committee. The chairman of any province that can’t ensure safety for their fishermen would be dismissed.
Relating to the evacuation, the largest ever, the front steering committee decided to begin the evacuation at Saturday noon and last till 5pm of the same day. The evacuation order is issued by the Prime Minister.
It is difficult to evacuate such a large number of people. Related agencies and local administration immediately prepared for the task.
In the morning of Saturday, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung will tour Thua Thien - Hue to check the province’s preparations for Xangsane. At the same time, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung will check the job of experts at the National Hydro-meteorological Central.
PV | 
