Tropical storm Noul heads to central Vietnam

As of 7am on September 16, the storm was located 750 kilometres to the southeast of the Hoang Sa (Paracel) Islands, sustaining winds of 60-75 kilometres near its centre.

Noul is forecast to move in a north-northwest direction for the next 24 hours at a speed of 15 kilometres per hour and gathering strength as it tracks towards Vietnam’s central coast.

Due to the tropical storm, the central area of the East Sea will see very rough waters and strong winds with growing intensity, reaching above 100 kilometres per hour.

All vessels in the danger zone are highly susceptible to the impacts of strong winds and cyclones.

Noul is expected to reach the waters off the coast of provinces from Quang Tri to Quang Nam on the morning of September 18, packing winds of up to 135 kilometres per hour and gusts of over 150 kilometres per hour.

The storm is then projected to make landfall between Quang Binh and Da Nang, raising the disaster risk alert to red, the fourth level on a scale of five.