With winds of up to 74 kph, Typhoon Gaemi is moving in the East Sea towards Vietnam’s central coastal region, while a cold air front is affecting northern provinces, said the Central Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting Center. At 4 am this morning, October 6, the tropical storm was located 340 km east of the coast between Quang Ngai and Phu Yen provinces, with winds of 62-74 kph and gusts of up to 102 kph. The typhoon has since moved west-southwest at 20 km. At 7 pm today, the typhoon is expected to lay 120 km east of the coast, packing winds of the same force. The storm will then move west at 15-20 kph and, if its path remains unchanged, it will hit the above-mentioned region tonight, the center said. After the landing, the storm will downgrade into a low pressure that goes west with winds of less than 39 kph and reach the Vietnam-Cambodia border at 4 pm Sunday, October 7, said Bui Minh Tang, the center’s director. The storm will cause rough seas and strong winds, of up to 62 kph, to the area between the Truong Sa (Spratly) and Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelagoes in the East Sea. The coastal area between Da Nang city to Khanh Hoa province, including the Ly Son Island, will have winds of 40-62 kph. In the area near the storm’s eye the wind will be stronger, at 75 kph, with gusts of up to 102kph.
The storm will also cause medium to heavy rain in a large region from Ha Tinh to Khanh Hoa provinces and the northern area of the Central Highlands region, with rainfalls amounts reaching 100-300 mm, or even up to 300-400 mm in some areas.
The Central Steering Committee for Flood and Strom Prevention and Control has asked concerned authorities to keep all boats at sea well informed of the storm’s development so that they can to take safety measures and avoid dangerous areas. Meanwhile, a cold front from the north has moved towards northern Vietnam, causing cold weather there, the Central Hydro-Meteorological ForecastingCenter reported. The cold front will also cause winds of 30-39 kph and gust of up to 62 kph in the Gulf of Tonkin, the center said.