Storm Sanba enters Gulf of Tonkin, to trigger heavy rains

At around 10 a.m. on Thursday, the storm lay above sea regions to the east of the Gulf of Tonkin, according to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting. Its maximum wind speed was 74 kph, and the storm was moving north at 10 kph.

By 10 a.m. Friday, the storm would be above northern parts of the Gulf of Tonkin. It would continue to move north at 5-10 kph, and may get stronger over time.

The storm is forecast to be over the gulf's southern parts on Saturday morning, before continueing to move south and gradually weaken into a tropical depression, and eventually a low-pressure area.

The storm would cause rough seas and strong winds, as well as rain levels at 15-60 mm in the plains and northeastern parts of northern Vietnam and other coastal areas from Thursday night to Saturday night. Rains in central Vietnam would quickly subside.

Japanese and Hong Kong meteorological agencies anticipated that Sanba would reach its strongest winds of 85-88 kph on Friday morning, when the storm would be above the Gulf of Tonkin. It would then move southward and quickly weaken.

Sanba is the fifth storm to make an appearance on the East Sea this year. There can be another one storm or tropical depression to appear within this month, meteorologists said.