VietNamNet Bridge – Tropical storm Haima, forecast to hit China’s Luichow Peninsula this afternoon and the Vietnam-China border tomorrow, will bring heavy rains to Vietnam’s northern and north central regions, the Hydro-meteorological Forecasting Center has warned.

The expected path of tropical storm Haima, which will likely move downward into the Gulf of Tonkin. (Photo: NCHMF)

It packs winds of up to force 8, or 62-74 km per hour, and is moving at 10-15 km per hour west-northwest towards Luichow.

After hitting the peninsula, Haima will likely degrade to a tropical depression.

Meanwhile, a tropical depression that has formed east of the Philippines’ Luzon Island would intensify into a storm tomorrow, Bui Minh Tang, director of the Hydro-meteorological Forecasting Center, said.

It would influence the movement of Haima, possibly pulling it downward into the Gulf of Tonkin from the Vietnam-China border, he said.

In that case, Haima is likely to reach the Gulf of Tonkin tonight and lie there for a few days, affecting northern Vietnam and also causing bad weather in several north-central provinces like Ha Tinh and Quang Binh.

The coast between Quang Ninh and Quang Ngai Provinces would be experience thunderstorms, Tang said.

“Haima may move downward and have a greater effect on Vietnam,” Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat said at a meeting of the Central Steering Board for Flood and Storm Prevention and Control yesterday.

“So we must take measures to cope with the worst.”

He ordered all provinces and cities that lie in the path of the storm to take measures to protect lives and property.

Vessels out at sea must be guided to safe locations by this evening and kept fully informed of the storm’s movement, he said.

VietNamNet/Tuoi Tre