Typhoon Noru, the fourth storm in the East Vietnam Sea so far this year, is gaining strength while rapidly heading to central Vietnam and it is forecast to hit the provinces between Thua Thien Hue and Quang Ngai on Wednesday morning, the central weather agency warned. 

At 7:00 am on Tuesday, the typhoon was centered on 400km off the coast of Quang Nam - Quang Ngai Provinces, packing winds of up to 183km per hour, with gusts of 220km per hour, according to Vietnam’s National Center for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting. 

Within the next 12 hours, the powerful storm will move west rapidly and may get stronger while heading to central Vietnam

At 4:00 pm Tuesday, Typhoon Noru will be located 300km off from Da Nang City or 250km off Quang Nam Province, with winds of up to 183km per hour and gusts of over 220km per hour.

On Tuesday night, the typhoon will continue moving quickly in the same direction to get closer to the waters of central localities, with its intensity likely weakening a bit.

At 4:00 am on Wednesday, the eye of the storm will be located off the coast of the central area from Quang Tri to Binh Dinh Provinces, with wind force reaching 166km per hour and squalls hitting 201km per hour.

The typhoon will enter the mainland on the same morning, possibly in the Thua Thien Hue - Quang Ngai region, before gradually weakening to a tropical depression and later to a low-pressure system in Thailand.  

Due to the influence of the typhoon, from Tuesday morning many localities in central Vietnam began to have rainstorms, the center said. 

The north and middle areas of the East Vietnam Sea, including the waters of Vietnam's Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago, will also have heavy rains with strong winds, with gusts increasing to 220km per hour, together with rough seas and waves reaching 9-11 meters high.

The southern area of the East Vietnam Sea, including the waters of Vietnam's Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago, will have squalls of 88km per hour and rough sea waves rising to three to four meters.

On the mainland, fierce winds with gusts of up to 183km per hour will lash the coastal areas of the central localities including Thua Thien Hue, Da Nang, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, and Binh Dinh from Tuesday evening.

This image shows Vietnamese Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan inspecting preparations to cope with Typhoon Noru in a central locality on September 25, 2022. Photo: Truong Trung / Tuoi Tre

From Tuesday through Wednesday, the region including Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue, Da Nang, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, and Kon Tum will have downpours with rainfall of 250-350 millimeters, even up to 450 millimeters in some areas.   

Torrential rains will also be recorded in the areas of Quang Binh, Binh Dinh, and Gia Lai Provinces, with lower precipitation, at 300 millimeters in maximum.

From Wednesday onward, heavy rains will expand in many localities south of the northern delta and in the north-central region.

At 7:00 am on Wednesday, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired an online meeting on measures to respond to Typhoon Noru, with connections made to eight localities in the central coastal region and Central Highlands that are likely to be affected by storms, including Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue, Da Nang, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Gia Lai, and Kon Tum.

The PM two days earlier signed a decision to establish a Frontline Steering Committee to coordinate activities coping with the typhoon, with his deputy Le Van Thanh assigned as the head of the committee. 

Thanh is scheduled to arrive in Da Nang City on Tuesday morning to direct actions in the central region to mitigate the possible impacts of the coming typhoon. 

Earlier on Sunday, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan was in the central provinces to inspect preparations to deal with the powerful storm.

Over the past several days, authorities in all localities in central Vietnam have deployed all necessary measures to protect infrastructure as well as human lives and assets ahead of the forecast landfall of the typhoon.

Before entering the East Vietnam Sea and heading to central Vietnam, Typhoon Noru swept through the Philippines on Sunday evening, killing five rescuers, causing many others to go missing, forcing an evacuation of over 74,000 people, and caused initial damage of US$2.4 million to the country’s agriculture, among other losses, according to international media.

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