Storm Kompasu weakens into tropical depression off central Vietnam

By Gia Chinh October 13, 2021 | 05:45 pm PT

A fisherman in the central Quang Binh Province takes his boat ashore from the Nhat Le River to take shelter from storm Kompasu, October 13, 2021. Photo by VnExpress/Hoang Tao

Storm Kompasu weakened into a tropical depression over Vietnamese waters Thursday morning but is still heading for the central region.

It weakened after moving past China’s Hainan Island on Wednesday night.

At 7 a.m. Thursday the center of what used to be the storm lay 220 km from Thanh Hoa, 230 km from Nghe An and 200 km from Ha Tinh provinces with winds of 40-60 kph, according to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

In the next 12 hours it will move westward at a rapid 20-25 kph but keep weakening before making landfall between Thanh Hoa and Nghe An. Its winds are expected to drop to below 40 kph.

However, the Japan meteorological center said the storm would pack winds of 82 kph when making landfall and the U.S. Navy radio station forecast 65 kph.

On Thursday and Friday the northern region and several parts of the central region are expected to get heavy rains of up to 200 millimeters.

From Saturday to Tuesday due to the influence of a cold spell in combination a new low-pressure area, the central region will continue to receive heavy rains and face the threat of flash floods and landslides in mountainous areas and flooding in low-lying and riverine areas.

Kompasu is the eighth storm to form over the East Sea, known internationally as the South China Sea, this year.

As of Wednesday it had caused an estimated 11 deaths in the Philippines.