After barrelling across the Philippines' capital Manila, powerful tropical storm Rammasun, with its wind speeds of up to 166kph near its centre, has entered the East Sea.   

At 7pm today, the storm should be positioned at latitude 17°9’N and longitude 113°2’E, about 180km northeast of the Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago. 

During tomorrow, the storm is expected to continue moving in a westerly or north-westerly direction at a speed of about 20kph.

The predicted track of Storm Rammasun

By 7pm tomorrow, 18 July, the storm’s position is predicted to be at latitude 20°2’N and longitude 109°3’E, about 260km east-southeast of coastal areas from Quang Ninh to Thai Binh provinces.  The strongest wind speeds near its centre are up to 149kph (level 11/12).

According to the Da Nang Border Guard Command, there had been 2,278 fishermen on 318 fishing vessels operating at sea up until yesterday afternoon.   

To prepare for the arrival of the storm with its complicated development, the city’s Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Control and Mitigation, Search and Rescue has asked local relevant agencies to keep the fishermen fully informed about the evolution of the storm so that they can avoid affected areas.