In Vietnam, authorities ordered the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people on Tuesday, as Super Typhoon Noru headed for the coastal city of Da Nang (Central), after killing 6 people during its passage over the Philippines.
Nearly half of Vietnam's airports were closed, schools and offices in several central provinces were shuttered and residents were rushing to find shelter ahead of the expected arrival of the typhoon, the most powerful on record this year, on Wednesday morning.
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After hitting the Philippines late last week, Noru is expected to make landfall as a super typhoon before 11:00 a.m. local time (11:30 GMT) and then taper off as it moves inland.
Winds are expected to reach 160 kilometers per hour, as much as Typhoon Xangsane, which hit Da Nang in 2006 and killed 76 people, authorities said.
Sixth major typhoon since 1945
They urged 400,000 people to leave their homes, including in the popular tourist town of Hoi An, where some residents have taken refuge in a primary school.
“
I wanted to leave.
My house is not very solid.
I'm afraid its roof will be blown away when the typhoon hits
,” Huynh Mua told AFP, clutching a plastic bag full of clothes, a blanket and several packets of instant noodles.
In Da Nang, Vietnam's third largest city, all shops and hotels were closed, while residents were banned from the streets from Tuesday evening.
According to Hawaii's Joint Typhoon Warning Center, Super Typhoon Noru will be only the sixth major typhoon to hit Vietnam since 1945.
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On Sunday, Noru inflicted strong winds and heavy rain on the populous Philippine island of Luzon, toppling trees, causing power outages and flooding.
Five rescuers were killed while in a flooded village, while another man died in a landslide.
