New storm heading to Vietnam as Kai-Tak menaces

A tropical depression has grown into a storm and is on track to enter the South China Sea, known as the East Sea in Vietnam, to join Storm Kai-Tak, which has been in the country’s waters since Monday.

The latest storm, known as Tembin, was to the east of the Philippines as of Thursday morning.

Meteorologists said after passing through the Philippines, Tembin may enter the East Sea and land in southern Vietnam on December 26, making it the 16th storm to hit Vietnam this year.

“The storm has yet to enter Vietnamese waters, but we will be following it closely to provide a more exact forecast,” the Southern Regional Hydrometeorological Center said Thursday.

Projected pathway of storms Kai-Tak (left) and Tembin. Photo courtesy of NCHMF

Meanwhile, Kai-Tak was 180 kilometers (110 miles) from the Spratly Islands with wind speeds of up to 100 kilometers per hour at 7 a.m. on Thursday.

In the next 24 hours, it will keep moving at a speed of 15km per hour and is expected be around 340km off Con Dao Island in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province by 4 a.m. on Friday.

Kai-Tak will cause rough seas along the southern coast of Vietnam, forecasters said.

The storm strengthened from a tropical depression east of the Philippines on Thursday before making landfall in the archipelago nation.

It had killed 43 people and left dozens missing as of Tuesday, said an AFP report.

This year has been a stormy one for Vietnam with 15 storms so far in the East Sea including Typhoon Damrey, which inflicted heavy damage on the south-central region in early November.

According to official reports, natural disasters left 390 people dead or missing in Vietnam in the first 11 months of the year and injured 657 others, while causing damage worth around VND52.2 trillion ($2.34 billion).