The Vietnam General Department of Meteorology and Hydrology has sent a document to the World Meteorological Organization's Hurricane Committee to propose removing the name of Typhoon Linfa from the list of names for storms formed in the Northwest of Pacific and the Southeast Asian waters.

Many parts of the central region of Vietnam were flooded due to Typhoon Linfa.

The name Linfa, nominated by Macau - China, was named for storms in 2003, 2009 and 2015.

Tropical storm Linfa (international number TS 2015) formed in the East Sea on October 9, 2020 and made landfall in the central region of Vietnam on October 11, 2020.

Due to the impact of heavy rains during and after Typhoon Linfa, floods, flash floods and landslides occurred throughout the central region of Vietnam.

Losses caused by this storm were huge, with 148 deaths, 1,009 collapsed houses and 121,694 other houses damaged.

In order to sympathize with the great loss and damage to people in the central region, the Vietnam General Department of Meteorology and Hydrology has asked the World Meteorological Organization's Hurricane Committee to consider removing the name Linfa from the list of names to be used for future storms in the Northwest Pacific and Southeast Asian waters.

Under regulations approved by the World Meteorological Organization's Hurricane Committee at the 31st session held in 1998 in the Philippines, the national meteorological and hydrological agencies that are members of the Hurricane Committee have the right to suggest names of storms and also the right to recommend the removal of names from the list of hurricane names if a storm with that name causes serious devastating consequences, or for other reasons.

Vietnam’s proposal will be considered at the upcoming 2021 annual meeting.

If it is approved, Macau (China) will propose three new storm names at the annual meeting in 2022 of the World Meteorological Organization's Hurricane Committee.

This is the third time that Vietnam has made such a proposal.

Huong Quynh

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