Tropical storm to bring downpours to central Vietnam tonight

The tropical depression, which formed in the East Vietnam Sea on Saturday, has developed into a typhoon later the same day and is expected to hit the north-central provinces of Nghe An and Thanh Hoa on Monday early morning.

According to the National Center for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting, storm Talas was located 200 kilometers southeast of China’s Hainan Island as of Saturday night, packing winds at 60 to 75km per hour and squalls at up to 102km per hour.

The typhoon was traveling northwestward at a velocity of 15 to 20 km and picking up in strength.

It is forecast to be around 230 kilometers east of the north-central Vietnamese coastline on Sunday evening, maintaining its westward journey, and reach the mainland on Monday morning.

After making landfall, the tropical storm will weaken into a tropical depression and later a low-pressure area, causing downpours and strong winds to the northern and north-central region.

Highest rainfall is will be recorded at 250 to 300 millimeters in Thanh Hoa and Nghe An Provinces.

Hoang Van Thang, deputy minister of Agriculture and Rural Development and vice-chairman of Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, chairs an online meeting to prepare for the storm on July 16, 2017. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Water level of major rivers in the region will also rise rapidly due to the torrential rain, posing high risks of inundation in urban areas and flashflood, landslides in mountainous localities.

Rough seas are expected off the coastline from the northern city of Hai Phong to the north-central Ha Tinh Province and near the Gulf of Tonkin.

The Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control on Saturday evening urged authorities in the affected provinces to prepare measures to deal with the potential disasters.

An online meeting was chaired by Hoang Van Thang, deputy minister of Agriculture and Rural Development and vice-chairman of the central steering committee, on Sunday morning.

The development of the storm is very unusual, Hoang Duc Cuong, director of the National Center for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting, said at the gathering, warning that it wound make landfall between 1:00 am and 7:00 am on Monday.