Typhoon Noru is one of the strongest storms to have hit Vietnam over the past two decades, with authorities now preparing for the evacuation of about 370,000 residents from dangerous areas.

Typhoon Noru entered the East Vietnam Sea early on Monday morning after sweeping through the Philippines’ Luzon Island, unleashing winds between 118 to 133km per hour and gusts of up to 166km an hour, the National Center for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting reported.

Noru is one of the strongest storms to have hit Vietnam over the past 20 years with its strength similar to that of Storm Xangsane in 2006, Ketsana in 2009, and Molave in 2020.

The storm was located 720 kilometers east of the Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago as of 7:00 am on Monday and was forecast to travel west in the next 24 hours.

By 7:00 am on Tuesday, Noru will be situated 190 kilometers southeast of the Hoang Sa archipelago, with wind speed increasing to 134 to 149km per hour and gusts up to 200km an hour.

The typhoon will continue traveling westward in the next 24 to 48 hours and will reach the maritime area off north-central Vietnam on Wednesday morning.

The average wind speed will rise to between 134 and 166km per hour.

A map detailing the route of Typhoon Noru in the East Vietnam Sea from September 26 to 30, 2022. Photo: National Center for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting

In the next 48 to 72 hours, Noru will make landfall in central Vietnam before weakening into a tropical depression.

Due to the influence of Typhoon Noru, heavy downpours of 150 to 300 millimeters accompanied by thunderstorms and strong gusts will batter central provinces and the northern part of the Central Highlands from Tuesday afternoon to Wednesday night.

From Wednesday to Friday, the rains will move to north-central localities.

Strong winds, rough seas, and waves as high as eight to ten meters will occur off localities from north-central Quang Binh Province to south-central Ninh Thuan Province starting Tuesday afternoon.

Powerful winds will also be felt on the mainland from north-central Quang Tri Province to south-central Ninh Thuan Province starting Wednesday morning.

Authorities in the affected provinces are preparing for the evacuation of more than 93,000 households with nearly 370,000 people from dangerous areas.

The Ministry of National Defense and police units in the affected localities are expected to mobilize approximately 300,000 officers to respond to the typhoon.

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