Northern Vietnam braces for yet another tropical storm

The tropical storm, originating from the south of China’s Guangdong Province, is expected to carry winds blowing at 75 kilometers per hour, causing heavy rain in affected areas.

According to the Vietnam National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, the storm is moving towards the Gulf of Tonkin at five kilometers per hour and is expected to hit northern Vietnam’s coastal provinces on Thursday afternoon.

Weather experts say northern Vietnam should expect heavy rainfall from Wednesday night to Friday.

This is the fourth storm to form this year in the East Sea, which is known internationally as the South China Sea. Right now, the South China Sea is also harboring two other storms, Yagi and Leepi.

Son Tinh, which hit northern and central Vietnam last month, triggered floods and landslides that killed at least 27 people.

A record-breaking 16 tropical storms hit Vietnam in 2017, leaving 389 people dead or missing and injuring 668 others, mostly in northern and central regions. The General Statistics Office estimated damage at around VND60 trillion ($2.64 billion), 1.5 times the previous year’s figure.

Damrey, one of the most destructive storms last year, hit Vietnam in November and killed at least 106 people.