At an urgent meeting on July 16, Bui Minh Tang, director of the National Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting Centre said the storm changed its direction to the south and is travelling fast toward northern coastal and Red River Delta provinces. One day earlier, the centre forecast that Conson would make landfall in the area along the Vietnam-China border.

The storm is heading for the Bac Bo (Tonkin Gulf) with sustained winds of 125kph near its centre. It is forecast to enter the gulf in the morning of July 17 and then the northern coastal area in the afternoon. Coastal provinces from Quang Tri to Quang Ninh will experience heavy rain and high tidal surges of between 2-4m.

Mr Tang warned that northern provinces would have high rainfall of between 100-200mm, even 300-400mm. The storm is expected to make landfall late on July 18 and is expected to weaken into a tropical low pressure system the following day. 

The National Committee for Search and Rescue reported that 52,000 fishing vessels have been told to either move to storm shelters or avoid the danger areas. However, rescue forces could not get contact with 17 others with 237 fishermen on board distressed near the Hoang Sa archipelago.

Lieutenant General Tran Quang Khue, deputy chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army, proposed that coastal provinces evacuate tourists and fishermen from fish caged rafts to the shore. He asked military zones No 2, 3, 4 and 5 to deploy rescue forces to cope with the possible worst cases. 

Cao Duc Phat, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, who has just made a fact-finding tour of Hai Phong city, said local people should reinforce public works and their houses to minimise damage by the storm. He also asked Hanoi to put its pumping system on standby to pump out rainwater in the downtown area in case the storm dumps heavy rain on the city.

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai, who chaired the meeting, warned this is a powerful storm which has caused huge human and property losses in the Philippines. 

There is no room for complacency as the storm is forecast to directly hit the coastal area from Thanh Hoa to Quang Ninh provinces which accommodates many fishermen, said Mr Hai.

He asked these provinces to ban vessels from setting sail in case of emergency. He also asked the National Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Control and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to dispatch inspection teams to areas vulnerable to floods.