A tropical depression in the East Vietnam Sea will strengthen into a storm and move to the Gulf of Tonkin on early Sunday, causing heavy rain and gales to northern Vietnam, the national weather agency has forecast.

The depression, which is moving west-northwest at a speed of 15 to 20 kilometers per hour, packing winds and gusts at up to 90 kilometers per hour, will develop into a storm soon, the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting warned on Saturday.

The storm will center on the western area of China’s Hainan Island at 4:00 pm on Saturday, with winds of up to 75 kilometers per hour and squalls of 100 kilometers per hour.

The storm will later move in the same direction at the same speed before entering the Gulf of Tonkin at around 4:00 am on Sunday, generating similar gales.   

Since then, all vessels that operate in the East Vietnam Sea near the Gulf of Tonkin should be highly alert to strong windstorm and tornadoes, the center warned.

In the next 24 to 36 hours, the storm will move in the northwest direction at about 15 kilometers per hour and land in Vietnam’s northeastern and north-central regions.

The storm will then downgrade to a tropical depression and enter the southern part of the Red River Delta and Thanh Hoa Province, with winds of up to 50 kilometers per hour, before further weakening into a low-pressure area. 

Due to the impacts of the storm, the Gulf of Tonkin area, including Vietnam’s Bach Long Vi Island, will have powerful winds and gusts up to 100 kilometers per hour, along with strong rough sea from Saturday afternoon, the center said.

From early morning of Sunday, the northern delta and Thanh Hoa will see increasingly strong winds, which may slash the coastal areas at a speed of 75 kilometers per hour.

Meanwhile, the northern region and the provinces from Thanh Hoa to Thua Thien-Hue will have moderate to heavy rains from Saturday afternoon until Monday, with rainfalls of 80 to 150 millimeters or higher in some locations.

The southern part of the northern delta and nearby provinces will have downpours, with precipitation of up to over 350 millimeters, along with whirlwinds, lightning and strong gusts, the center warned.

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