Storm Nesat gains strength en route to Paracel Islands

According to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, the storm will move at 15 kph within Tuesday in the west-southwest direction.

By 4 a.m. of Wednesday, it will be north of the Paracels with wind speed dropping to around 130 kph.

After that, the storm will meet a cold spell from the north and get weaker.

By 4 a.m. Thursday, it will be 100 km north of the central Quang Binh Province and 120 km southeast of central Ha Tinh Province with wind speed expected at 74 kph.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said the storm has reached its maximum strength early Tuesday morning, with winds 145 kph, and will maintain strength as it gets closer to the Paracels.

On Wednesday night, when approaching Vietnam’s central coast, it will become weaker, with wind speeds of 100 kph and continue to get weaker as it makes landfall in the central region.

The Hong Kong Observatory said the storm will grow weaker once it passes the Paracels and devolve into a tropical depression before entering the central region.

Nesat makes the sixth storm in Vietnam’s waters this year.

It arrives shortly after Storm Son Ca raged the central region, causing floods that had killed 10 people.

From now until January next year, Vietnam is expected to receive three-five storms and tropical depressions and most will cause impacts to the central and southern regions.