Powerful tropical storm Rammasun will sweep through the Philippines today before entering the East Vietnam Sea and moving toward Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago, the Vietnam National Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting Center has warned.

>> Storm to enter East Sea, bringing widespread rain to Vietnam At 7:00 am this morning, the storm was centered about 520 km east-southeast of the Philippines’ Luzon Island, packing winds of 118-149 kph and gusts of up to 201 kph. The storm is moving mainly east at a speed of 20 kph and is forecast to hit the Central Philippines on Wednesday morning with winds of 117 kph and squalls of 166 kph. At 7:00 am on Thursday, July 17, the typhoon will be centered 440 km east-southeast of Hoang Sa, with maximum winds reaching 133 kph and squalls of 150-183 kph. The storm will then move between west-northwest and northwest at a speed of 15-20 kph. Due to the storm, as of early Wednesday morning, the eastern area of the East Vietnam Sea will experience rough waters and winds of 50-74 km, which will increase to 75-102 kph in areas near the storm’s eye, together with gusts of up to 133 kph. The powerful storm’s movements will bring widespread rain to northern provinces and may also cause landslides and flashfloods in mountainous areas, the center warned.  The storm will also cause strong winds and heavy rains in the Central Highlands region and southern Vietnam, it added. Yesterday, the Central Steering Board for Flood and Storm Prevention and Control issued a message to its units located in the region from Quang Ninh Province in the north to Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province in the south, asking them to coordinate with local authorities in preparing to cope with the coming typhoon. The board has also asked the ministries of defense, transport, agriculture and rural development and foreign affairs to outline plans to mitigate possible impacts of the powerful storm.

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