A tropical depression previously forming in the East Vietnam Sea has evolved into a storm, becoming the second typhoon to hit the Southeast Asian country this year.

The low-pressure system picked up enough strength to become a tropical storm after passing the northwestern part of Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago on Tuesday morning, the National Center for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting reported.

The typhoon was located about 190 kilometers southeast of China’s Hainan Island as of 7:00 am, packing winds blowing at 60 to 75km per hour and gusts at up to 102km an hour.

It is forecast to travel north at five to ten kilometers an hour in the next 24 hours.

By 7:00 am on Wednesday, the storm is expected to hit the eastern coast of Hainan Island.

Under the influence of the weather phenomenon, rain and rough seas will occur in the northern section of the East Vietnam Sea.

Although the storm does not have a direct effect on Vietnam’s mainland, downpours are expected to be brought about by the storm circulation in southern and central provinces.

In the next 24 to 48 hours, the storm will travel northwestward before reaching the east part of Leizhou Peninsula in China as of 7:00 am on Thursday.

In the next 48 to 72 hours, it is anticipated to downgrade to a tropical depression, with wind speed at between 50 and 60km per hour, and continue to weaken.

This is the second storm to hit the East Vietnam Sea in 2018.

The first one, Typhoon Sanba, formed in the southern part of the maritime area in mid-February, just a few days ahead of the Lunar New Year, which was on February 16.

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