Typhoon Krosa in the East Sea is weakening after passing a cold front and facing dry air, but it will still bring rain to Central Vietnam, the National Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting Center reported. Accordingly, the region from Quang Tri to Binh Dinh Provinces and the northern Central Highlands area will experience medium to heavy rains starting this afternoon. At 10 am today, November 4, Krosa was centered at 18.1 degrees latitude north and 111.8 degrees longitude east, about 160 km north-northeast of the Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago. Winds near the eye of the storm reached 62-74 kph, with gusts of 75-102 kph. The tropical storm is moving between southwest at a speed of 25-30 kph and will weaken into a tropical depression. Due to the storm, the western area of the northern East Sea, including the waters north off Hoang Sa Islands, will experience rough seas and strong winds of up to 61 kph as of this morning. In areas near the storm’s eye, the winds will be stronger, up to 88 kph, with gusts of 89-117 kph. The waters off the region from Quang Binh to Quang Ngai provinces will also be rough, with winds ranging between 39-88 kph. Yesterday Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Cao Duc Phat, head of the Central Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Control, sent messages to local authorities in the region from Thanh Hoa and Khanh Hoa provinces asking them to keep all boats at sea well informed of the weakened storm’s developments so that they can take safety measures in time.  He also asked local authorities to prepare plans to cope with the torrential rains and flooding that may occur.   At 4 pm today the depression will be seen at 16.7 degrees latitude north and 109.9 degrees longitude east, 180 km northeast of the coastal region between Quang Tri and Quang Ngai Province.  In areas near the storm’s eye, the wind will reach 61 kph, with gusts of 62-88 kph. The depression will continue to move in the same direction at a speed of 30 km and weaken into a low-pressure system. It will land in the region from Thua Thien-Hue and Quang Ngai Provinces. At 10 am on November 5, the low-pressure system will be centered in southern Laos, packing winds of less than 39 kph, and will then dissipate.