Quang Ninh evacuates tourists from islands ahead of Typhoon Mun’s arrival

More than 500 boats are anchored on Co To island before the forecast

 arrival of Typhoon Mun (Photo: VNA)

The move had been taken before a ban of vessels sailing to sea was issued at noon on July 3. 

Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of Co To island district Tran Nhu Long said however, up to 1,640 tourists, including four foreigners, wanted to stay on the island to get an experience of a storm at sea. 

Long added that the local authorities have taken necessary measures to ensure the tourists’ safety and daily needs.   

In Quan Lan-Minh Chau islands in the Van Don island district, another 148 tourists also insisted to stay on the island.

During the storm seasons in 2015 and 2017, thousands of tourists were stuck on outlying islands in Quang Ninh for days, even weeks, due to storms. In July 2015, the provincial authorities had to enlist the help of the navy to take the tourists onto land.

Quang Ninh is a popular destination for sea and island tourism. It has a coastline of more than 250 kilometres and is home to popular destinations such as Ha Long Bay, Bai Tu Long, Ha Long Bay National Park and islands such as Co To, Quan Lan and Van Don.

The province welcomed 12.3 million visitors, including 5.2 million foreigners, last year.

As of 4pm on July 3, the typhoon Mun was about 210 km east-south east of the coast from Quang Ninh to Thanh Hoa province. The typhoon has maximum wind intensity of 60-75km per hour at its centre, with gusts reaching 103-117km per hour. 

Mun is moving west-north west at a speed of 10-15km per hour and is likely to gain strength. Source: VNA