The tropical depression developed into a storm on Tuesday evening, becoming the fifth storm to hit the East Sea so far this year, Viet Nam's National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting said.

The expected track of the storm (Source: The National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting)

At 1pm today, 16 September, the storm, internationally named Noul, was at latitude 13°2'N and longitude 116°8'E, about 680 kilometers southeast of Viet Nam's Hoang Sa (Paracel) Archipelago. It packs sustained wind speeds of up to 75kph at level 8, with strong gusts of up to 130kph at level 10 near its centre.

Over the next 24 hours, the storm is forecast to move in the west- northwest direction at a speed of around 15 km per hour, and it will become stronger.

As of 1pm tomorrow, 17 September, it should be positioned at latitude 14°8’N and longitude 113°8’E, about 260 kilometers southeast of the Hoang Sa Archipelago, and it is predicted to carry wind speeds of between 90 and 100kph.

Over the next 48 hours, the storm is predicted to keep moving in the west- northwest direction at a speed of around 25 km per hour and become stronger. It is likely to cause direct impacts on central coastal localities from Quang Binh to Quang Ngai provinces.

Due to the effects of the storm, since early this morning, a part of the East Sea has experienced very strong winds, tornadoes and very rough seas.

To prepare for the storm, the Da Nang Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Mitigation and Control, and Search and Rescue, has asked the district-level authorities and the Da Nang Coastal Information Station to keep all fishing boats operating at sea well informed of the storm’s position, direction and movement. This will allow them to take the initiative to avoid dangerous areas or seek safe shelter from the storm. 

Offshore fishing boats in Da Nang are not being allowed to head out to sea, and relevant agencies are being asked to keep in close contact with boats at sea in order to handle any unexpected incidents.

By HOANG HIEP, TTDBKTTVQG - Translated by M.D