Storm Yagi enters East Sea after lashing Philippines

At 7 a.m. on Tuesday it lay centered in the northeastern area of the East Sea and was moving west-northwest at 20-25 kph, according to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

It will keep moving west-northwest with its winds picking up steadily.

By Thursday it will be around 400 km east of Hainan Island with winds of 112 kph before veering westward.

By 7 a.m. Friday it will remain east of Hainan Island but with winds of 134-149 kph.

Forecasted direction of storm Yagi. Photo courtesy of the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting

The Japan Meteorological Station said its winds, currently at 90 kph, would increase to more than 160 kph when it moves towards Hainan.

The Hong Kong station made a similar forecast.

Nguyen Van Huong, head of the Vietnamese meteorological center’s weather forecast department, said Yagi would steadily strengthen after entering the East Sea due to favorable atmospheric conditions and move westward.

Under its influence, the northeastern part of the East Sea will have strong winds and waves rising to three to five meters from Tuesday.

On Monday Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan instructed provinces from Quang Ninh to Phu Yen to monitor the storm, warn boats to take shelter and have rescue forces standing by.

The storm is moving towards southern China and Vietnam after leaving at least 14 people dead in landslides, floods and swollen rivers in the Philippines.

Thousands of travelers were stranded in the country on Monday after sea travel was temporarily halted in several ports and 34 domestic flights were suspended, AP reported.

This is the third tropical storm to hit the East Sea this year.

Storm Prapiron made landfall in Quang Ninh Province on July 23, bringing heavy rains to most of the northern region and killing 14 people.