Hanoi (VNA) – By 3pm on July 25, tropical storm Sonca, the fourth developedin the East Sea and third to hit Vietnam this year, made landfall in thenorthern areas of the central provinces of Quang Tri and weakened into atropical low pressure, according to the National Centre for HydrometeorologyForecasting.

Thecentral province of Quang Tri has evacuated 1,296 households in coastal andisland districts to safer places.

The3,983 residents evacuated are from Gio Linh, Vinh Linh, Trieu Phong, Hai Langand Con Co districts and Dong Ha town.

QuangTri has also called on 2,364 vessels with nearly 7,400 people on board toanchor at wharfs and avoid dangerous zones.

The provincial People’s Committee has issued an urgent notice on stormpreparedness, asking for attention to ensuring safety for vessels at wharfs andsupervising reservoirs in localities.

Underthe notice, unnecessary meetings will be cancelled and officials are requiredto focus on directing efforts against the storm.

QuangTri is suffering torrential rains with rainfall measuring in such areas asThach Han, Cua Viet and Dong Ha ranging from 126mm to 171mm.

Inthe central province of Thua Thien-Hue, 29,350 houses in coastal andmountainous areas of Phu Vang, Phu Loc, Phong Dien, Quang Dien, A Luoi and NamDong districts are also expected to be evacuated soon.

Thelocalities are requested to work round the clock in case of unexpectedincidents at night.

Localcompetent agencies have checked the safety of reservoirs, high voltagestations, antennas, base transceiver stations (BTS), advertising boards andtrees.

Thestorm is forecast to affect more than 25,570 ha of rice of the summer-autumncrop, which are flowering, in the province.

TheThanh Hoa steering board for natural disaster prevention, search and rescue hasasked localities to stay ready with measures to guarantee the safety of dykes,lakes, and facilities under construction, especially at 121 downgraded lakesand dams.

By3pm on July 25, all off-shore vessels in Thanh Hoa reached shore safely.-VNA