Vietnam prepares to evacuate 250,000 people as storm Kompasu looms

The plan was announced Tuesday by Pham Duc Luan, deputy head of the National Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, at a meeting on responding to the storm.

The storm entered Vietnam's waters late Monday night and is expected to hit the central region Thursday, according to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

Local authorities have directed 54,000 ships with more 230,000 crew members to take shelter.

At present, three ships from Quang Ngai with 29 crew members on board are still on their way to finding shelter.

Seven provinces that have announced sea bans: Thai Binh, Quang Ninh, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue, and Quang Nam.

At 7 p.m. Tuesday, the storm lay 490 km (304 miles) east-northeast of the Hoang Sa (Paracel) Islands in the East Sea (known internationally as South China Sea) with winds of 90-120 kph.

In the next 12 hours, it is likely to move west at the speed of 25-30 kph and grow stronger, according to the Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting Center.

The storm is the eighth one to enter Vietnam's waters so far this year.

Nine people have been killed in the Philippines and 11 were missing on Tuesday due to floods and landslides caused by heavy rain from tropical cyclone Kompasu, Reuters cited the national disaster agency as saying.