Storm Utor, with gale-force winds of up to 210kph near its centre, is heading towards the Philippines’ Luzon Island, and it is forecast to enter the East Sea later today, 12 August.

At 1am today, the storm’s position was on the southeastern side of the Luzon Island, at latitude 16°2’N and longitude 122°2’E.

At 1am tomorrow, 13 August, the storm should be positioned at latitude 18°4’N and longitude 116°8’E, about 520km off the northeast Hoang Sa (Paracel) Archipelago.

Super storm Utor is heading towards the East Sea

In the next 24 to 48 hours, it is expected to move in a westerly or north-westerly direction at a speed of about 25kph.

Meanwhile, a tropical low pressure system is slowly moving in a westerly direction at a speed of about 5kph, and it is predicted to dump heavy rains on the central coastal provinces from Binh Dinh to Khanh Hoa.

Due to the effects of the low pressure, southern provinces and central highlands are expected to see scattered, moderate to heavy showers and thunderstorms. 

According to the Da Nang Border Guard Command, there had been 844 fishermen on 103 fishing vessels operating at sea up until yesterday.

In detail, 136 fishermen on 14 fishing vessels were in the Hoang Sa archipelago area, 180 were on 35 vessels off the coast of Hai Phong City, 101 on 12 vessels in the coastal areas from Nghe An to Quang Binh provinces, 370 on 40 vessels in the coastal areas from Quang Tri Province and Da Nang, and 3 vessels in the coastal areas from Binh Dinh to Khanh Hoa provinces.  At present, all local fishermen and their boats are safe, and they thoroughly understand the evolution of the storm and TLP, as well as keep regular contact with mainland.