Storm Hagupit likely to hit Vietnam’s Ninh Thuan-Binh Thuan area tonight

At 8 pm Wednesday, when located 250 km north-northeast of Song Tu Tay Island, part of Vietnam’s Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago, the storm was packing winds of up to 102 km, much stronger than its maximum winds of 74 kph a day before, said Hoang Duc Cuong, director of the center.

At 4 am Thursday, the storm was centered 240 km north of Song Tu Tay Island, packing winds of up to 88 kph and squalls of 103-133 kph, the center reported.

The storm is moving west at a speed of 20 km but may change direction to west-southwest, heading for Vietnam’s south-central coast.

In the most likely scenario, the storm will weaken into a tropical depression with winds of 39-61 kph when it is 100-150 km off the coast between the south-central provinces of Khanh Hoa and Binh Thuan, Cuong said.

Hagupit will then reach land in the Ninh Thuan-Binh Thuan area on Thursday evening, he said.

In another possibility, the storm will weaken as it nears the south-central coast and will then drift southward along the coast between Ba Ria-Vung Tau and Ben Tre provinces, bringing rain and thunderstorms to the southern region, he added.

Due to the storm, the waters off the coast from Binh Dinh to Binh Thuan provinces will face rough seas and winds of up to 74 kph and gusts of 75-102 kph from Thursday afternoon.

At the same time, the coastal localities between Phu Yen and Binh Thuan provinces will experience winds of 39-61 kph and gusts of 62-88 kph.

Meanwhile, powerful sea waves, with a height of 2-4 meters or higher, will be seen in waters off the region from the central city of Da Nang to the southern city of Vung Tau.

The coastal southern region from Vung Tau to Ben Tre province may suffer winds of up to 74 kph, together with thunderstorms and vortexes.

The storm, in combination with an ongoing cold front, will also bring medium or heavy rains to the region from the central province of Thua Thien-Hue to the south central province of Ninh Thuan from Thursday afternoon.

The Central Steering Board for Flood and Storm Prevention and Control convened an urgent meeting on Wednesday evening with local authorities from Khanh Hoa, Binh Thuan, Ninh Thuan and Ba Ria-Vung Tau provinces to deploy measures to cope with the coming storm.

All boats in those localities are banned from going out to sea, and those already at sea must be informed of the storm’s movements so that they can take safety measures in time, the board said.