A tropical depression formed in the East Sea on July 31 grew into a storm, internationally known as Jebi, which is the fifth hit the sea area so far the year.

By 7:00AM the same day, it was spotted around 450km to the south east of Vietnam’s Hoang Sa archipelago, with a wind speed of 62-74km per hour.

In the next 24 hours, the storm is forecast to move west-northwest at an hourly speed of 10-15km, even at a faster pace.

To cope with Jebi, authorities of coastal localities have notified fishing vessels owners of the storm’s movement to alert them to the need to take shelter against the unpredicted weather pattern.

In the past several days, torrential rains and flood had claimed five lives and injured seven others in the northern provinces, the Central Committee for Flood and Storm Control reported on July 31.

The downpour also torn apart 20 houses and submerged over 3,700 ha of rice and vegetables.

Many roads have been blocked due to landslides, causing difficulties for local people to travel.

Rains and floods have also blown off parts of many dykes.

(Source: VNA)