Tropical depression to become storm

The low-pressure system was located about 190 kilometers northeast of Vietnam's Paracel archipelago as of 7:00 pm Tuesday.

It's expected to travel northwest in the next 24 hours and gather enough strength to become a storm. The Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control held an emergency meeting to respond to the situation in a timely manner.

As it's now fishing season, local authorities have been asked to help evacuate all fishing vessels and to bring them to safety. Coastal aquaculture farmers will have to closely monitor any further developments.