Typhoon Tembin has strengthened and is expected to make landfall today along the coast of Southern Vietnam after killing 200 people with as many missing and leaving 70,000 homeless.
The storm which is now packing winds gusts of up to 115 km/h is travelling west at a speed of 22 km/h.
According to Viet Nam News, a total of more than 1.1 million people in 15 provinces and cities in the south were relocated to safe places before Typhoon Tembin could make landfall.
According to the Central Hydrometeorological Forecast Centre, at 7 am today, the storm’s centre lay some 320km east of Côn Đảo, off the waters of Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu. Wind speed reached up to 90-115km per hour.
Dozens of flights to and from Hồ Chí Minh City, Phú Quốc and Cần Thơ have been cancelled due to Typhoon Tembin.
Vietnam Airlines (VNA), Jetstar Pacific (JPA) and VASCO (OV) announced plans to reschedule Monday’s flights due to the storm.
The so-called Thomas Fire burning in parts of Southern California now ranks as the largest wildfire on record in the state.
The oppressive blaze has grown steadily since erupting outside Ventura on Dec. 4. By Friday evening, the fire had eclipsed all previously recorded blazes in the state dating back to the 1930s.
It has now burned through 273,400 acres in the Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, also known as Cal Fire, reported. The Cedar Fire, which previously topped the list, burned more than 273,246 acresin San Diego County in 2003.
Of the top 20 largest wildfires in California history, the Thomas Fire is the only one to have occurred in December. Most of the other blazes took place during summer months when hot, dry conditions make the state more fire-prone. But California has experienced years of drought, in addition to a global temperature rise, which has fostered conditions in which megafires know no seasonal bounds.
The Thomas Fire has destroyed over 1,000 structures and caused the death of firefighter Cory Iverson, who died battling the colossal flames. The blaze has also taken a considerable toll on the local economy, the extent of which will likely become apparent in the months and years to come.
The Thomas Fire’s ranking as largest in state history is just one of many records wildfires have been breaking in California this year. In October, 21 fast-moving blazes in Northern California became the deadliest in the state’s history after killing more than 40 people.
Cal Fire has reported that more than twice as many acres burned in California this year compared to last year ― even though 2017 saw the official end of the state’s years-long drought emergency.
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