Heavy rains to continue lashing Vietnam as another storm looms

A tropical depression has strengthened into a storm brewing over the South China Sea (which Vietnam calls the East Sea) and is forecast to cause heavy rains in Vietnam's northern and central provinces on Tuesday.

According to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting (NCHMF), as of 1 p.m. on Sunday, the storm was around 140 kilometers (87 miles) southeast of China's Hainan Island, with gusts of wind blowing up to 75 kilometers per hour.

The storm is expected to be 210 kilometers (130 miles) southeast of Vietnamese coasts on Tuesday afternoon, causing heavy rains from Thanh Hoa to Thua Thien Hue provinces on that day.

The storm, named Sonca, is the fourth to develop over the East Sea this year. Tropical Storm Talas, the second storm to hit Vietnam, killed at least eight people and damaged buildings and roads across northern and central Vietnam after making landfall last Monday.

Weather forecasters in Vietnam are predicting a particularly stormy typhoon season this year, with 13-15 typhoons and tropical depressions expected to develop over the East Sea. Three to four are likely to make landfall in central Vietnam.

Last year, 10 typhoons and tropical depressions developed over the East Sea, four of which hit Vietnam's mainland.