BANGKOK, 29 September 2009 (IRIN) - More than 150,000 people have been evacuated in Vietnam as governments and relief workers across parts of the Mekong region brace themselves for Typhoon Ketsana.
As a tropical storm, Ketsana killed at least 240 people and displaced more than half a million people when it hit the Philippines on 26 September.
Having strengthened into a typhoon, Ketsana is expected to make landfall during the afternoon of 29 September over the coast of central Vietnam, south of the city of Danang, then move west across central Laos and into neighbouring Thailand.
In Vietnam, relief workers said the government had evacuated over 150,000 people in the provinces of Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien-Hue, Da Nang and Quang Nam in anticipation.
"The Vietnam Red Cross worked closely with the government until 10pm last night. They have evacuated 160,000 people," Lasse Norgaard, communications delegate for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), told IRIN from Hanoi.
"The people have been taken to safe houses - evacuation centres and schools. Schools have been closed for the next two days, and normal offices have been closed. People have been told to stay at home and flights have been cancelled," he said.
In preparation, Norgaard said the IFRC had restocked supplies of relief items and household kits, and was also moving a water treatment plant to central Vietnam to provide clean drinking water after the storm.
Hundreds of trained Red Cross staff and volunteers in each of the five potentially affected provinces are on standby for relief efforts.
Aid agencies said the army, local authorities and volunteers had been warning communities about the coming storm, urging them to stay indoors, while the government has stockpiled food and water.
"The government has been working very hard preparing for this event," said Peter Newsum, country director for Care International in Vietnam.
But while efforts have been made to prevent loss of life, relief workers warned that the potential impact of the typhoon on livelihoods could be devastating.
"There is a concern that it is rice harvesting season at the moment, so potential crop loss could be severe," Newsum said.
He said Care was mobilizing staff in-country to prepare for a potential emergency response, with additional emergency offices in the region also at the ready.
"The moment we get the first information on damages, we will send out assessment teams with other agencies in order to assess the damage and launch a rapid response," he said.
Thailand's Meteorological Department said Ketsana was expected to reach the country's northeastern Mukdahan Province by 30 September and issued a storm warning to 18 provinces.
"More rain is likely, with heavy to very heavy falls first in much of northeastern and eastern Thailand and then the others," said the department in a statement issued on 29 September.
"People in the risky areas along the foothills, near waterways and in lowlands should beware of flooding during this period," it said.
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