HANOI, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- Authorities from Vietnam's northern Quang Ninh province to central Khanh Hoa province will on Thursday ban ships from going to the sea to avoid the approaching Typhoon Doksuri, the country's Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control said on Wednesday.

The coastal provinces will also ensure smooth operation of venues where ships can take shelter before Doksuri, the 10th and the strongest tropical storm in the South China Sea since early 2017, hits Vietnam, forecast on Friday night or early Saturday.

The steering committee has instructed northern mountainous provinces to urge local people in areas prone to flash floods and landslides to keep away from the areas in the next few days.

At 7:00 a.m. on Thursday, Doksuri is forecast to be 320 km east-southeast off the coast from Nghe An to Ha Tinh provinces, with strongest winds near its eye reaching level 13 (moving at a speed of 135-150 kilometers per hour).

Natural disasters, mainly tropical storms, floods and landslides, killed or left 116 people missing, and caused property losses of 5,640 billion Vietnamese dong (250 million U.S. dollars) in Vietnam in the first eight months of this year, according to the country's General Department of Disaster Prevention and Control.