Three fishermen are reported missing after their vessels sank off the coast of Quang Tri province.

Vietnam has mobilised some 100,000 military personnel to help 250,000 people evacuate as intensifying Typhoon Bualoi barrels towards the country, forcing the government to shut down several airports.

Bualoi, the 10th typhoon to affect Vietnam this year, is currently at sea, generating winds of 130km/h (80mph) and is expected to make landfall later on Sunday, according to the meteorology agency.

“This is a rapidly moving storm – nearly twice the average speed – with strong intensity and a broad area of impact. It is capable of triggering multiple natural disasters simultaneously, including powerful winds, heavy rainfall, flooding, flash floods, landslides, and coastal inundation,” the agency said.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has also called for the “highest level of readiness” as Bualoi entered the country’s waters, according to the government daily, Viet Nam News.

In advance of the landfall, Viet Nam News reported that three fishermen from Ho Chi Minh have gone missing after one vessel sank and another was “disabled” by large waves off the coast of Quang Tri province. Eight others were rescued.

The two vessels were seen stranded about 1.5km (1 mile) from the mouth of the Cua Viet Channel, the report said.

In Da Nang, the country’s largest city, state media reported that the government is evacuating more than 210,000 residents, while more than 32,000 people living in Hue near coastal areas are also set to be moved to safer areas.

More than 15,000 residents in Ha Tinh, known as a key steel production hub, have been slated for evacuation to schools and medical centres converted into temporary shelters, the AFP news agency reported, quoting authorities.

The city government mobilised more than 200 people with trucks, stone, sand, bamboo stakes and sacks to reinforce the coastline, according to the VN Express news website.

According to reports, four domestic airports were shut, and all fishing boats in the typhoon’s path have been called back to harbour.

Residents in coastal areas were also ordered to secure their vessels.

“I feel a bit anxious but still hopeful that everything will be fine in the aftermath. We were all safe after the recent typhoon Kajiki. I hope this one will be the same or less severe,” Nguyen Cuong, 29, a resident of Ha Tinh City, told AFP.

On Friday, Bualoi battered the Philippines, triggering mudslides and flooding. As of the latest report from Philippine media, 10 people were killed, while 10 others remain missing.

Scientists warn that storms are becoming more powerful as the world warms due to the effects of human-driven climate change.

In Vietnam, more than 100 people were killed or went missing due to natural disasters in the first seven months of 2025, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

In July, a tourist boat capsized in Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay, killing at least 37 people and leaving five others missing, following a sudden thunderstorm.

Vietnam suffered $3.3bn in economic losses in September 2024 as a result of Typhoon Yagi, which swept across the country’s north and caused hundreds of deaths.