Thousands of fishing boats have docked at Tho Quang Port in Da Nang to escape from Storm Molave. VNS Photos Cong Thanh

Authorities made the emergency announcement on Monday afternoon, calling for people and fishing boats to find safe shelter.

Schools in the central region will also be closed from October 27-28.

People in the region have been warned to shore up their houses to protect their property, while fishing boats were called in to dock on Monday morning. Thousands of boats had already made their way to Tho Quang Port as of Sunday afternoon.

Thousands of fishing boats in the central provinces dock at Tho Quang fishing port in Da Nang City as Typhoon Molave will make a landfall on October 28.

The central region experienced severe damage from Typhoon Xangsane in 2006, with 276,000 houses either damaged or flooded.

In 2013, Storm Nari damaged more than 1,000 houses in Da Nang.

The region has yet to recover from historic floods and landslides that hit over the past two weeks.  VNS

Storm Molave to lash central region

Storm Molave, the ninth of this year and the fourth within a month, will make a landfall in the central region, from Thua Thien-Hue to Khanh Hoa province,