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At 7 a.m. on Wednesday the storm was around 300 km southeast of Vietnam's Paracel Islands in the East Sea, known internationally as the South China Sea, with winds of up to 75 kph, according to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.
It is expected to move southwest at a speed of 10 kph to lie around 330 kilometers off the mainland between Quang Ngai and Khanh Hoa provinces by 7 p.m. on Wednesday, with winds strengthening to 90 kph.
It is projected to weaken into a tropical depression and make landfall on Thursday.
Authorities in Binh Dinh Province, home to the beach town of Quy Nhon, closed all beaches on Tuesday night and banned vessels from going out to sea.
Phu Yen, home to Vung Ro Bay and Da Dia Reef, did so on Wednesday morning.
Khanh Hoa Province, home to Nha Trang, has not yet issued a swimming ban but ordered the evacuation of over 20,000 people living in areas facing a high risk of landslides.
Quang Nam and Quang Ngai provinces started evacuating people living in mountainous areas and other dangerous locations on Tuesday.
Several landslides were triggered by Storm Molave a few days ago in mountainous areas of Quang Nam, killing at least 26 people.
From Wednesday night until Friday, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai and Binh Dinh will be battered by torrential downpours with rainfall of up to 350 mm while Thua Thien-Hue, Da Nang and Phu Yen in the central region and Kon Tum, Gia Lai in the Central Highlands should expect rainfall of up to 200 mm.
Goni killed at least 20 people in the Philippines and caused volcanic mudflows that buried houses.
It packed sustained winds of up to 225 kph when it reached the Philippines and had been dubbed a super typhoon.
Goni is the 10th storm to hit Vietnamese waters this year. There were four storms and one tropical depression in the central region in October alone, the joint highest in the country’s recorded meteorological history with 1993.
Historic flooding and landslides they caused left at least 235 dead and missing.
