Typhoon Tembin, which formed off southern Philippines on Friday, is forecast to enter the East Vietnam Sea later today, November 23, becoming the 16th storm to hit Vietnam this year.

As of 7:00 am on Saturday, the storm was located some 320km east-southeastern of the Philippine island of Palawan, according to Vietnam’s National Center for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting.

The typhoon, packing winds at 75 to 100km per hour and gusts of up to 149km an hour, is gathering strength on its west-northwestern track at a speed of 20-25 kph.

This means by Saturday night, the storm will cross over the southern part of Palawan to enter the East Vietnam Sea, becoming Vietnam’s 16th typhoon in 2017.

Previous forecast said the storm would only make landfall in southern Vietnam on December 25 or 26.

By 7:00 am on Sunday, the storm’s center is expected to reach a location some 380km east of Truong Sa Lon Island in Vietnam’s Truong Sa (Spartly) archipelago, with wind speeds at between 90 and 115km per hour.

In the next 24-hour and 48-hour period from that point, the storm will continue moving westward at 25kph, picking strength along its journey.

By 7:00 am on Christmas Day, typhoon Tembin will be located some 300-450km from the Vietnamese coast from Ba Ria-Vung Tau to Ca Mau, packing winds of up to 135kph.

Once making a landfall, the storm will mainly affected southern localities including Tien Giang and Ben Tre in the Mekong Delta, and Ho Chi Minh City.

Officials are seen at a storm response meeting in Tien Giang, southern Vietnam, on December 22, 2017. Photo: Tuoi Tre

The Tien Giang administration therefore convened an emergency meeting on Friday night to prepare plans to evacuate some 40,000 residents who may be affected by storm Tembin.

The typhoon is expected to cause high waves of up to three meters, followed by high tide, posing risks to local agricultural crops.

Tien Giang authorities have selected 119,232 schools and public offices as shelter places for evacuated residents, and assigned 11,400 officials and military people to the storm response team.

At least eight people were killed and several others were missing after storm Tembin hit southern Philippines on Friday, according to Rappler.

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