At dawn on 24/8, the Nghe An Province Border Guard fired flares, signaling ships to return to shore to shelter from Typhoon Kajiki. Photo: Hung Le

At dawn on 24/8, the Nghe An Province Border Guard fired flares, signaling ships to return to shore to shelter from Typhoon Kajiki. Photo: Hung Le

Nghe An Province Border Guard fired flares calling for ships to return to shore to avoid Typhoon Kajiki. Video: Hung Le

At Vuon Uom market in Thanh Sen ward, formerly Ha Tinh city, people rushed to buy food and other supplies in preparation for the heavy rain and flooding expected from the storm. Photo: Vo Thanh

In coastal communes, people used motorbikes to pull their basket boats ashore to avoid the storm.

Nghe An province has over 2,900 fishing vessels with 13,240 workers directly involved in seafood harvesting. By 8 a.m. on 24/8, thousands of vessels had safely anchored ashore. 88 vessels were still operating about 8 nautical miles offshore, and three were operating outside the province. The Nghe An People's Committee (UBND) requested all vessels return to shore before 10 a.m. the same day.

In coastal areas, the Border Guard used loudspeakers to call for boats to return to shore. Photo: Duc Hung

To minimize storm damage, on the evening of 23/8, Cam Binh commune in Ha Tinh province mobilized nearly 20 harvesters to bring in the ripe rice.

A similar sense of urgency took place in Dong Tien, Thach Lac, and Thien Cam communes. People worked against the clock, with many families mobilizing members to harvest throughout the night.

Border Guard Flotilla 2 helps residents reinforce their homes in Thuan An ward. Photo: Duc Hung

Households helped each other transport bags of rice onto carts to take home. "My family cultivates 9 sao (a Vietnamese unit of area), and we've only harvested 3. The storm is coming, so we have to rush the rice home; if it floods, we'll lose the entire crop," said Mr. Thanh, a resident of Thien Cam commune, formerly Cam Xuyen district.

According to Ha Tinh's Sub-Department of Crop Production and Animal Husbandry, the province planted over 45,170 hectares of rice for the 2025 summer-autumn season. Nearly 400 hectares have been harvested so far, concentrated in Cam Binh, Thien Cam, Dong Tien, and Ha Huy Tap ward. The early-ripening varieties are mainly short-term ones like BT09, HG12, TBR97, and Xuan Mai.

Earlier, from the afternoon of 23/8, in Dan Hai commune, formerly Nghi Xuan district, authorities mobilized three excavators, two trucks, and over 400 people, including assault forces, veterans, and militia, to reinforce a 200-meter eroded section of the Hoi Thong sea dike with wire mesh, sandbags, and riprap to protect against rising sea levels. Photo: Vo Thanh

At Vuon Uom market in Thanh Sen ward, formerly Ha Tinh city, people rushed to buy food and other supplies in preparation for the heavy rain and flooding expected from the storm. Photo: Vo Thanh

In Hue city, residents were also busy harvesting rice Saturday morning to prepare for the approaching typhoon.

Hue city planted over 25,000 hectares of summer-autumn rice and has harvested only 1,500 hectares. With the motto "better a green house than a ripe field," since 23/8, farmers in Hoa Chau ward and Dan Dien commune (downstream of the Bo River) have been urgently harvesting rice, with many areas working through the night to stay ahead of Typhoon Kajiki.

In coastal areas, the Border Guard used loudspeakers to call for boats to return to shore. Photo: Duc Hung

Border Guard Flotilla 2 helps residents reinforce their homes in Thuan An ward. Photo: Duc Hung

On city streets, urban forces are racing against time to trim trees to prevent them from falling and causing damage to houses during the storm.

On the morning of 24/8, Typhoon Kajiki intensified to a category 12 storm, increasing four categories in one day. It is forecast to make landfall in Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces Sunday afternoon, bringing gusts of up to category 15, large waves, and very heavy rain. At 7 a.m., the storm's center was about 620 km from Nghe An and 600 km from Ha Tinh, with maximum winds of 133 km/h.

Moving northwest at 20 km/h, the storm is expected to enter the southern Gulf of Tonkin Sunday morning, about 140-160 km from Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces, with a strength of category 12-13. Meteorological agencies have issued a level 4 disaster risk warning for the coastal areas from Thanh Hoa to Quang Tri, and inland from Thanh Hoa to northern Quang Tri.

Duc Hung - Vo Thanh