Vietnamese authorities ordered evacuations in central and southern coastal provinces as Tropical Storm Mirinae approached the coast.

Mirinae was 181 kilometers (112 miles) from Ho Chi Minh City at 7 a.m. local time, with sustained winds of as much as 83 kilometers per hour, down from 93 kilometers per hour four hours earlier, according to the U.S. Navy Joint Typhoon Warning Center. It was moving west-southwest at 26 kph.

The storm will bring heavy rains to the central coast and central highlands, Vietnam’s National Committee for Flood and Storm Control said Monday in a statement. Typhoon Ketsana last month left at least 163 dead and caused VND14.3 trillion ($801 million) in damage, the committee said.

About 7,900 people, mostly children, women and elderly residents in Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa and Ninh Thuan provinces, where the storm may make landfall, were evacuated as of 9 p.m. Sunday local time, the committee said. More people will be evacuated Monday, according to the statement.

Local governments issued an alert for more than 18,100 boats with almost 104,000 crewmen aboard to take shelter or navigate out of Mirinae’s forecast path, the committee said.

The storm’s eye was about 250 kilometers east of the coast line between Quang Ngai and Phu Yen at 4 a.m. local time, according to the National Committee for Flood and Storm Control.

Coffee, rice

Vietnam is the world’s second-biggest exporter of rice and biggest producer of the robusta coffee.

The main coffee-growing region, including Lam Dong and Dak Lak provinces, are in southern part of the central highlands that may be affected by the tropical depression. The main rice production areas aren’t in the storm’s path.

The Philippines was recovering Monday after Typhoon Mirinae passed across Manila and southern Luzon Sunday, leaving 14 people dead and four missing, the National Disaster Coordinating Council said in its 8 a.m. bulletin.

Mirinae Sunday knocked out power, washed away a bridge and toppled trees as it barreled across the island.

The Philippines has been battered by more than 10 cyclones this year, killing about 1,100 people. More than 121,000 remain in evacuation centers after cyclones Ketsana and Parma hit the country in the past month.

Source: Bloomberg