The National Hydro-meteorological Forecast Centre reported that the storm would make landfall in the northern provinces of Quang Ninh and Hai Phong at 10 p.m.

Kalmaegi, the third storm to hit the East Sea so far this year, is moving west-northwest at a speed of 25 to 30 km per hour and is forecast to be 260 km from the coast of Quang Ninh and Hai Phong at 1 p.m.

Coastal provinces were warned of four- to five-metre waves and mountainous provinces were warned of landslides and flash floods. Cao Duc Phat, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, noted that the last storm caused no loss of lives but the flash floods and landslides that followed left 38 people dead.

At an online meeting with representatives of 26 provinces and cities held yesterday to discuss measures to cope with the storm, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai urged local authorities to immediately evacuate residents of high-risk areas and called on all vessels to reach anchorage before 5 p.m.

Classes will be suspended if necessary, he said, adding that local authorities should remain vigilant in the face of the fast-approaching storm.

The Deputy Prime Minister told leaders of localities to take turns in visiting and checking on preparations for high-risk areas to help mitigate storm damage.

He also required the Transport Ministry to assign people on duty in areas where traffic was likely to be blocked to promptly deal with any situation that would arise.

Do Trung Thoai, the People's Committee chairman of Hai Phong City, one of the localities forecast to be directly hit by the storm, said city authorities would organise delegations to inspect all preparations today and tell all offshore shipping vessels to come to anchorage no later than 3 p.m.

Nguyen Van Thanh, chairman of the Quang Ninh Province People's Committee, said about 500 tourist vessels would be asked to stop operations and reach anchorage before noon.