This year’s fourth tropical storm, named Podul, is set to bring heavy rains and strong winds in northern and north-central Viet Nam during the 3-day National Day (2 September) holiday break.

A map detailing the route of tropical storm Podul from 28 to 31 August, 2019. Photo: National Center for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting

The storm was centered directly above the Hoang Sa (Paracel) Islands on Thursday morning, with the strongest winds reaching levels 8 - 9, gusting at level 11, according to the National Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting Centre.

Tropical Storm Podul is projected to make landfall on a stretch from Thanh Hoa to Quang Binh provinces on late Saturday.

Under the influence of the storm and its circulation, rough seas and strong waves will occur along the coast in northern and central provinces.

Heavy rains are seen dampening the mid-central region, including Da Nang, from 29 August to 2 September, herby likely make National Day holiday a wet one.

The storm is unleashing torrential downpours to the Quang Binh to Quang Trị provinces with the total rainfall accumulation of between 150 and 300mm.

Likewise, the amount of rain that falls on Thua Thien Hue Province is ranging from 100mm to 200mm.

Localities from Da Nang to Quang Ngai are bracing for rain of milder intensity, hovering at between 50mm and 120mm.

Da Nang, in particular, will see the cloudy weather and showers, with day-time temperatures drop to 24-33 degrees Celsius with chilly nights, in many days to come.

Offshore fishing boats in Da Nang are not being allowed to head out to sea, and those operating at sea to seek shelter from the storm in a prompt fashion. Also, relevant local agencies are being asked to keep in close contact with boats at sea in order to handle any unexpected incidents.

Currently, a total of 127 fishing vessels from Da Nang are operating at sea, and 77 of them with a total of 716 crew members in total are conducting fishing activities in the western part of the Hoang Sa Archipelago.

Until now, all the fishermen have been notified about the location, direction and developments of the storm.

Earlier this month, Viet Nam was struck by storm Wipha, which brought heavy rains, floods and landslides that left at least 10 dead and 11 missing.

Annually, the country is hit by up to 10 tropical storms during the monsoon season between July and October. Four are expected so far this year.

Natural disasters, mostly floods, storms and landslides, killed 181 people last year and left 37 others missing and caused losses of around 20 trillion VND (858 million$).