HANOI, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- Typhoon Molave has landed in Vietnam's central region on Wednesday, bringing heavy rains and strong winds, local media reported.
Tuy Hoa city in Vietnam's central Phu Yen province has been hit by torrential downpours and strong winds, which uprooted trees in many places since early Wednesday. Shops are closed and streets deserted while many parts of the city saw power cuts, local online newspaper Vnexpress reported.
Da Nang city also witnessed downpours and strong winds. The city's authorities have issued warnings against going outdoors late and even going to work, according to a report by Vietnam News Agency, noting that nearly 94,500 people in the city had been evacuated as of 7 a.m. local time Wednesday.
As increasingly heavy rains and strong winds hit central Thua Thien Hue province since early Wednesday morning, the province's authorities have suggested locals not go out and shut all stores to ensure safety. Power outage has also occurred in an entire district of the province, the news agency reported.
Meanwhile, the central Quang Ngai province reported that a local man died when reinforcing his house to prepare for the typhoon.
The Vietnamese military has mobilized nearly 250,000 personnel and 2,300 vehicles for search and rescue operations, said the news agency.
As of 10 p.m. local time Tuesday, a total of 98,819 households with 374,631 people in the localities of Thua Thien Hue, Da Nang, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh and Phu Yen had been evacuated, according to the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control.
In the coastal waters from Da Nang city down to Phu Yen province, there were waves as high as 7.5 to 9.5 meters, said the committee's latest report.
Typhoon Molave was forecasted to be as strong as Typhoon Damrey in 2017, which left 123 people dead and missing and caused economic losses of over 22 trillion Vietnamese dong (956.5 million U.S. dollars), said the committee.