A tropical depression is traveling toward the coast between Quang Binh Province and Da Nang City in central Vietnam and could intensify into a storm in the next 24 hours, bringing heavy rainfall of 100-300mm to the central region from Wednesday to Friday, said the national weather agency.

At 7:00 am on Wednesday, the tropical depression was spotted some 220 kilometers east of Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago in the East Vietnam Sea, packing maximum sustained winds of over 60 kilometers per hour near its center and traveling westward at approximately 15 kilometers per hour.

The system is expected to march west-southwest at around 20 kilometers per hour in the following 24 hours and pick up strength to become the fourth storm to hit the East Vietnam Sea this year.

By 7:00 am on Thursday, it may be located some 210 kilometers east-southeast of Quang Tri Province and about 120 kilometers east of Da Nang.

The storm may move west-northwest at some 15 kilometers, making landfall in central Vietnam until weakening as it approaches the Vietnam - Laos border area at 7:00 am on Friday.

Between Wednesday and Friday, the central region of Vietnam may experience heavy rainfall of 100-300mm, with several places seeing more than 500mm of precipitation due to the impact of the tropical depression, according to the National Center for Hydrometeorological Forecasting.

During the same period, rainfall of 40-80mm is forecast to hit the Central Highlands and the southern part of the country, mostly in the afternoon and evening.

The national weather agency noted that strong winds and waves of 2-4 meters will likely hit the northern part of the East Vietnam Sea, the waters off the coast between Nghe An and Quang Ngai Provinces.

Fishing boats and vessels operating in these areas could be impacted by thunderstorms, whirlwinds, powerful winds, and high waves.

The coastal provinces running from Quang Binh to Quang Nam Provinces need to stay alert to high tides and waves that could cause sea dike erosion and flooding in low-lying locations.

The agency warned that wind gusts may reach 102 kilometers per hour along the coast from Ha Tinh to Quang Ngai Provinces throughout Thursday.

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