Tropical storm Son Tinh is moving fast in the East Sea towards Vietnam’s central coast and will strike the region tomorrow if its direction remains unchanged, the National Hydro-meteorological Forecasting Center has warned.

>> Son Tinh to enter East Sea, affecting Central Vietnam

The typhoon entered the East Sea from north of the Philippines’ Mindanao Island yesterday afternoon and continued moving west-northwest at 25-30 kph, the same speed of a naval warship, the center said. At 4 pm the same day it packed winds of 87 kph and then strengthened, but maintained its direction and speed. At 7 am today Son Tinh was located 370 km east-southeast of the Hoang Sa Islands. The strongest winds in the storm’s eye measured up to 75-102 kph, with gusts of 103-132 kph. At 7 am Saturday the typhoon will sit 170 km east of the coast of Quang Tri-Da Nang provinces, with winds of 89-102 kph and gusts of up to 132 kph. The storm will continue to move west-northwest at 20-25 kph and liekly hit Thanh Hoa-Nghe An provinces the same day, according to the US and UK meteorological agencies, said Bui Minh Tang, director of the Vietnamese center. Meanwhile, the Japanese and Hong Kong forecast centers predict that the storm will land in the region between Quang Binh and Quang Tri provinces. As shown on AlertNet yesterday, tropical storm Son Tinh is forecast to strike Vietnam as a typhoon at about 12:00 GMT on 27 October. Data supplied by the US Navy and Air Force Joint Typhoon Warning Center suggest that the point of landfall will be near 17.6 N, 107.3 E. Son Tinh is expected to bring 1-minute maximum sustained winds of around 120 kph to the region. Wind gusts in the area may be considerably higher.

The expected path of typhoon Son Tinh (Source: National Hydro-meteorological Forecasting Center)

Due to the storm’s impacts from tonight the sea between Quang Tri and Quang Ngai and the Gulf of Tonkin will be violently rough with winds of 40-62 kph, which will later increase to 63-75 kphs. In the area near the storm’s eye, the winds will be 76-102 kph, with gusts of 103-132 kph. The eastern area of the East Sea will experience winds ranging from 40-75 kph. Thunderstorms and rough seas will impact this area. After the storm lands, a cold front will form and will combine with southeast winds to cause downpours in central provinces and also affect provinces in the southern area of Northern Vietnam from October 27 to October 30, Tang said. The rainfall in Central Vietnam will be 300 mm on average, but the figure may reach 400-500 mm in some provinces, he said. At 4 am Sunday, October 28, the storm is expected to lie in a border area between Vietnam and Laos, with winds of 62-88 kph, he added. At yesterday’s meeting of the Steering Board for Flood and Storm Prevention and Control, the Border Guard High Command said 270 fishing boats with 2,600 people on board were still operating in the sea around the Hoang Sa (Paracel) Islands yesterday afternoon. The High Command requested the authorities of relevant provinces, including Da Nang, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh and Khanh Hoa to call on these boats to take safety measures immediately. The National Committee for Search and Rescue also urged local authorities in central provinces to follow the storm’s development and prepare plans to cope with it.