Quy Nhon shores up its beaches as storm Nakri threatens

In the south central province of Binh Dinh, waves 4-6 m in height have been bombaring the shore in Nhon Hai Commune, Quy Nhon Town since Sunday morning.

Over 300 people, including soldiers and locals, have been working hard to fortify two kilometers of embankment damaged by storm Matmo last month. 179 families living near the coast have been evacuated.

Nguyen Van Tanh (L) passes on a sand bag to another person helping strengthen the embankment. "Many houses here are in danger of being swept away, so everyone in the commune is working to strengthen the dykes as early as possible," said Tanh.

Soldiers in raincoats tie sand bag piles with ropes.

A soldier walks along the fortified dyke.

Nguyen Van Khanh, 56, piles up sand bags at the entrance of an alleyway. "My house is further inside, but we still have to use sand bags to block the waves and have some peace of mind," he said.

Nguyen Thanh Trung pulls up sand bags on to the roof with a wire.

Trung has a roof tile in hand as he arranges sand bags on the roof of his house.

Le Thi Thu piles up sand bags on the porch of her house. "The waves have crashed terribly and flooded my house. I'm worried that if the storms keep coming like this, the houses here will be swept away," she said.

"I haven't slept for the last few days, afraid of the high tide, the waves crashing against the dykes and the water splashing all over the roof," said Tran Thi Tu.

5,000 families in areas prone to erosion and high tides have been evacuated as of 12 p.m. Sunday, said the Binh Dinh People's Committee.

At 10 a.m. Sunday, Nakri's center was about 220km to the east of the area covering Binh Dinh to Khanh Hoa provinces, with a maximum wind speed of 100 kph, said the National Center for Hydro - Meteorological Forecasting.