Wutip is regaining its strength with gale-force winds gusting up to 130kilometres per hour near its centre and is threatening the central coast of Vietnam in the next two days.

At 13.00pm on September 28 the storm was about 170km East of Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago, packing winds of up to 117 kilometres per hour.

In the next 24 hours, the storm, the 10 of its kind to hit the East Sea this year, is forecast to move between west and south-west and then change into west.

Wutip is strengthening and threatening central coastal provinces

It is expected to gain force blowing up to 150 kilometres per hour on September 30 when it nears the coast from Quang Binh to Quang Ngai provinces.

Weather experts said if Wutip sustains its gale-force winds when it makes landfall, it will be the most powerful storm to batter Vietnam this year.

In an urgent telegram dated September 29, the National Steering Committee for Floods and Storms Prevention and Control asked central coastal provinces to be well prepared for the coming storm as it is likely to change its direction.

Wutip is forecast to dump heavy rains on central coastal provinces stretching from Thanh Hoa to Nghe An.  

Central Highland provinces are warned of flash floods and landslides when Wutip strikes.