Vietnam was evacuating more than 200,000 people in its coastal localities where typhoon Damrey was forecast to sweep over, a local official told Xinhua on Monday.

Over 121,000 people in northern Nam Dinh province, 76,000 others in northern Thanh Hoa province, and 9,000 in central Nghe An province, mostly children, women and the elderly, were being evacuated to solid schools, offices, and private houses, said Do Ngoc Thien, vice head of the Central Steering Committee on Flood and Storm Prevention.

Meanwhile, several thousands of others were mobilized to consolidate important dike segments along the coast and rivers, he said.

The typhoon, whose wind speed reached 118-133 kilometers per hour, has been the strongest in Vietnam so far this year, the National Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting Center reported.

The center said that Damrey, which should strike coastal areas from northern Quang Ninh province to central Thua Thien Hue province on Monday, will cause torrential rains in Vietnam's northern and central localities on Monday afternoon and Tuesday.

Last year, natural disasters killed 232 people and left 38 missing, injured 187 others, destroyed 4,200 houses and 3,000 hectares of rice, and killed over 2,000 cattle and 170,000 poultry in Vietnam, causing a property loss of over 900 billion Vietnamese dong (some 57 million US dollars).

Source: Xinhua