North Vietnam to brace for tropical storm, heavy rain expected

At 11am on October 18, the tropical storm was moving along the central coast, about 150km off the mainland of Quang Tri and Quang Ngai provinces, packing winds of between 62-74 kph near its centre.

In the next 24 hours, the storm is expected to move north and northeast at a speed of 10kph and gain further strength.

At 7am on October 21, the tropical storm, the fifth of its kind in the East Sea, will probably make a U-turn into south and southwest and lose its category into a tropical depression.

Heavy rain that has battered central localities for the past few days is anticipated to subside on October 18, said Hoang Phu Lam, deputy director of the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, at a meeting in Hanoi on October 18. 

Due to the impact of the tropical depression and storm, the band of rain will move to the north-central and northern regions, he said.

Also at the meeting, Nguyen Dinh Hung, head of the Rescue Department under the Border Guard Command, reported that his relevant units have informed thousands of fishing vessels about the tracks of the tropical depression and storm to avoid the danger areas.