The National Center for Hydrometeorological Forecasting said that last night the storm went faster, at a speed of 25 km per hour.
It is forecasted that this day and night the storm will still follow the West-Northwest direction, traveling about 25 km per hour and potentially strengthening to level 11 with maximum wind speed of 115 km/h.
Mr. Nguyen Van Huong, Head of Climate Forecasting Department, National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, explained that the storm increased in intensity due to receiving more energy from the warm East Sea and the strong southwest monsoon in the South.
Regarding landfall time, there is an 80% chance that the storm will keep the West Northwest direction. By about 4:00 a.m. tomorrow morning, due to the impact of cold air pouring down from the North, it will almost go sideways, entering the Quang Binh – Quang Ngai area at noon.
Another possibility, accounting for 20%, is that cold air has a strong impact, causing the storm not to move much to the North but to move sideways to the West, landing in the Central region on the morning of September 18.
Estimated path and affected area of ​​storm Noul.
Japanese radio at 2 a.m. this morning recorded wind speeds near the center of the storm of 92 km/h and gusts of 130 km/h.
Compared to yesterday, international stations changed slightly the location of the storm’s landfall, slanting south, from Thua Thien Hue to Quang Nam.
The Vietnam Meteorological Agency still estimates that from this afternoon to the night of September 18, provinces from Ha Tinh to Quang Ngai will receive 200-300 mm of rain, with some places over 400 mm.
Danger zone in the East Sea this day and night (strong winds from level 6, gusts from level 8 or higher) from latitude 11.5 to 18, west of meridian 117. All ships operating in the danger zone
In addition, according to the meteorological agency, from now until September 19, the southwest monsoon will be strong at level 6-7, gusting at level 9 in the sea from Binh Thuan to Ca Mau and the south of the East Sea (including the coastal waters).
At 8:00 a.m. this morning, the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention will meet and will request provinces to ban seas, drastically send ships and boats to shelters, let students stay out of school, and take measures to protect homes and structures.
According to the natural disaster response scenario, for a level 10 and level 13 storm, more than 107,000 households with more than 548,000 people in the dangerous central region may have to evacuate.
Noul was formed from a low pressure area in the Philippine Sea, then strengthened into a tropical depression and yesterday morning entered the East Sea and strengthened into a storm, the fifth storm in the East Sea this year.
Gia Chinh