Over 267,000 military officers ready for search and rescue in response to Typhoon Koto

Coastal provinces and cities from Da Nang to Ca Mau have cooperated to notify 49,225 vessels with 272,098 crew members on the direction of the typhoon.

Specifically, 28 vessels with 198 crew members are operating in the central area of the East Sea.

Regarding flood recovery efforts in the central provinces, the Ministry of National Defense has mobilized 34,832 officers and soldiers, along with 1,082 vehicles and three service dogs, to assist residents in Dak Lak, Gia Lai, Khanh Hoa, and Lam Dong in cleaning and restoring 87 households, 131 schools, 31 medical stations, 80 government offices and community houses and 246.9 kilometers of roads.

Typhoon Koto has strengthened off Viet Nam's central coast, reaching maximum sustained winds of 133 kilometers per hour on Thursday morning.

As of 8 a.m. Thursday, the storm lay centered 180 km north of Southwest Cay Island of the Spratly Islands in the East Sea, which is known internationally as the East Sea. The storm was moving west-northwest at 15 kph.

The National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting reports the storm's path will become erratic over the coming days.

On Friday morning, Koto is expected to shift to a slower west-southwest track at 5–10 kph, located about 190 km northwest of Southwest Cay, while maintaining its intensity.

On Saturday, it is forecast to remain in the western part of the central East Sea, weakening slightly to 103–117 kph, and moving northwest at 5 kph.

On Sunday, the storm is expected to weaken further, with winds slowing to strong gusts, and moving slowly north-northwest at 3–5 kph.

Despite the weakening, officials are concerned the storm could make landfall in the south-central region, an area already reeling from deadly floods and landslides that have caused 98 deaths and left 10 people missing as of Wednesday./.