Packing maximum winds of 102 kph, storm Wutip is getting close to the Hoang Sa (Paracel) Islands in the East Sea and will likely hit there on Sunday before heading for central Vietnam, the National Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting Center has warned.  At 7 am today, September 28, the tropical storm was centered at 16.4 degrees latitude north, 114.0 degrees longitude east, about 180 km east of the Hoang Sa archipelago, with winds of 89-102 kph and gusts of up to 133 kph. The storm is moving between west and west-northwest at 10 kph but it will likely change its direction to move west and strengthen. At 7 am on Sunday the storm will be located at 16.0 degrees latitude north, 112.3 degrees longitude east, on the southern Hoang Sa Islands, packing winds of 118-133 khp and gusts of 134-166 kph. In the next 24 hours, the storm may change its direction again to move between west and west-northwest at a speed of 10-15 kph. At 7 am on Monday, September 30, the storm will be centered at 16.4 degrees latitude north, 109.4 degrees longitude east, 130 km north northeast of the coastal region between Quang Tri and Quang Ngai provinces, packing maximum winds of 133 kph and gusts of up to 166 kph. Due to the storm, the northern East Sea, including the waters of Hoang Sa, will experience rough seas and strong winds of up to 75-102 kph, with gusts of 134-166 kph. The waters between south-central Binh Thuan and southern Ca Mau Province, as well as the middle and southern East Sea, including the Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago, will also be rough, and see southwesterly winds of 29-49 kph, and gusts of 50-74 kph. Thunderstorms and whirlwinds may affect these areas. At a meeting held yesterday the Central Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention and Control has urged local governments in the region from central Quang Binh to southern Ca Mau provinces asking them to keep all boats at sea informed of the depression’s movements so that they can take safety measures in time.