Vietnam Likely to Face 10 Storms in 2015: Agency

About 10 storms and tropical depressions may hit Vietnam this year, causing damage to the country’s coastal parts and leaving millions of people in misery, according to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting. The number is less than the average number in many previous years, the center said. The storms will be driven by the effects of the El Nino phenomenon, which will likely appear during the year’s storm season, the center said, adding that half of the number will hit the mainland. Sunny and hot weather this summer will have leave more impact on the northern and central regions than the southern region, the center forecast, noting that such hot weather will be less severe and prolonged than that in 2014. Currently, the south central region of Vietnam is facing drought that affects cultivation and people’s life. Being the country with about 70% of people living on agriculture, storms become disastrous for Vietnam. The country ranks among the five hardest climate change-hit countries. Climate change is likely to cause Vietnam damage worth $1.9 billion annually. (Tuoi Tre – Youth Mar 21, Thanh Nien – Young People Mar 23 p4, Cong An Nhan Dan - People’s Police Mar 23 p1)