Coastal provinces ban vessels as storm Wipha nears Vietnam
Vietnam's coastal provinces have prohibited vessels from going out to sea as Storm Wipha barrels down and is expected to make landfall before Tuesday, bringing rough seas and heavy rains.
On Monday morning, it lay centered over China’s Leizhou Peninsula, about 220 kilometers east of Quang Ninh and Hai Phong, according to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.
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Satellite image of Storm Wipha as of July 21, 2025. |
The storm, packing winds of up to 88 kph, is moving toward Vietnam’s northern coast and expected to strengthen further over the Gulf of Tonkin before hitting the region between Thanh Hoa and Nghe An provinces.
Authorities in a number of provinces have issued bans on going out to sea.
In Quang Ninh, all tourist boats and island-hopping passenger ferries in Ha Long Bay have been ashore since July 20 except those bringing back tourists from sea.
The province is also searching for passengers missing after a recent tragedy when a tourist boat capsized in the Bay, already causing 36 deaths. Three passengers are still missing.
Ninh Binh Province banned vessels from going out to sea starting at 7 a.m. on July 21, and evacuated people living in high-risk coastal and riverine areas.
Local military units have been fully mobilized in preparation for the storm’s arrival.
Hung Yen has imposed a marine ban since the evening of July 20, anchoring over 1,100 fishing boats and evacuating more than 2,800 workers from coastal aquaculture farms.
Evacuation and vessel docking operations were scheduled to wrap up by midday on July 21.
Hai Phong prohibited all fishing, aquaculture and sea transport activities from 5 p.m. on July 20.
It also shut down the Cat Hai–Phu Long cable car and all beach tourism and recreational activities along the coast.
Across the northern coast, more than 54,300 vessels and 227,000 fishermen have been instructed not to go out to sea.
Nearly 149,000 hectares of aquaculture farms are at risk from the storm.
Forecasters warn of rainfall of 200-350 millimeters all over the northeastern and north-central regions, and even 600 millimeters in some areas.
Flash floods, landslides and severe flooding seem imminent as the storm makes landfall.
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