Storm Koinu weakens upon Vietnamese waters

According to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, the storm will move westward at a speed of 10 kph but weaken.

By Saturday morning it will lie 180 km from Hong Kong with winds of no more than 88 kph.

It will then continue westward and weaken further.

The center expected the storm to become a tropical depression by Sunday morning.

A satellite image of Typhoon Koinu on October 6, 2023. Photo by National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting

Both the Japanese and Hong Kong meteorological agencies have made similar predictions, saying the storm will weaken into a tropical depression before reaching China's Hainan Island.

Reuters reported earlier that the storm brushed past southern Taiwan on Thursday evening as a typhoon, killing one person and injuring 304.

Koinu, which means "puppy" in Japanese, made landfall over Taiwan's Hengchun peninsula as a category four typhoon - indicating winds of up to 252 kph (156 mph) - but weakened as it crossed into the Taiwan Strait and headed toward China's Guangdong province, it said.

Koinu is the fourth storm to enter Vietnamese waters this year.

Meteorologists said there would be one or two storms and tropical depressions affecting the Vietnamese mainland this month.