Flooding, erosion risks in northern Vietnam as storm Chaba looms

The storm, the first one to appear in the East Sea this year, was around 310 km to the east-southeast of China's Hainan Island and around 640 km to the southeast of Vietnam's Quang Ninh Province at around 1 p.m. Friday, according to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting. Its maximum wind speed was 117 kph.

In the next 24 hours, the storm is forecast to move northwest at 15 kph and may get stronger over time. At around 1 p.m. Saturday, it would be around 270 km to the east of Quang Ninh, with a maximum wind speed of 133 kph.

At 1 p.m. Sunday, it would be about 200 km to the north of Quang Ninh with a maximum wind speed of 74 kph.

In the next 72 hours, it would maintain the same direction and move at 10 kph, before devolving into a tropical depression over China.

Strong winds and rough seas should be expected in the next 24 hours on certain sea regions. Areas at the Gulf of Tonkin should expect strong winds starting Saturday, the forecasting center said. Coastal regions from Quang Ninh to Ninh Binh might see rising tides, affecting embankments and causing floods in certain areas.

Starting Saturday afternoon, rain levels between 40-90 mm are expected in northern Vietnam regions. From Sunday to next Monday, rain levels in northern Vietnam would be between 100-350 mm. The rains are expected to last in the region until July 7.

China's Hainan province on Friday announced the closure of three ports as weather forecasters reclassified Chaba as a severe tropical storm expected to make landfall over the weekend, Reuters reported.