According to the Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, powerful tropical storm Rammasun, which is sweeping through the Philippines' capital Manila, is forecast to enter the East Sea this afternoon, but its strength is likely to reduce.

Rammasun nears the Philippines (Photo: nchmf.gov.vn)

At 7pm today, the storm’s position is predicted to be at latitude 15°5’N and longitude 119°1’E, about 780km east-southeast of the Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago.  The strongest wind speeds near its centre are up to 149kph (level 11/12).

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

By 7pm tomorrow, 17 July, the storm should be positioned at latitude 17°6’N and longitude 115°3’E, about 350km east-northeast of the Hoang Sa archipelago, and is predicted to carry wind speeds of between 118 and 133kph.