Typhoon Koppu is moving west from east off the Philippines and may enter the East Vietnam Sea on Monday, Vietnam’s National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting said on Friday.

The powerful tropical storm is expected to rip through the Philippines’ Luzon Island on Monday morning before reaching the East Vietnam Sea, the center said. 

The typhoon is set to hover over the Philippines through the weekend and linger into the beginning of next week, bringing torrential rain, destructive winds and devastating floods, the NBC News reported, citing the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration.

At 7:00 am Saturday, Typhoon Koppu was centered 270 km east off Luzon Island, packing winds of 150-165 kph and gusts of over 220 kph, according to the Vietnamese meteor center.

The typhoon is moving mainly west at 10 kph and will get close to the eastern coast of the island at 7:00 pm on Sunday, with the same strong winds.

The storm will then likely change its direction to north-northwest and move slower, at about 5 km.

It will later make landfall on the island by 7:00 am on Monday, packing winds of 120-150 kph and squalls of up to 201 kph in areas close to its eye.

In the next 48 hours, the typhoon will likely change its course, again, to move north at around 5 kph.

Due to the storm’s movement, the northeastern and middle areas of the East Vietnam Sea will experience winds of up to 74 kph and squalls as strong as 102 kph as of Sunday, the center said. 

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!