As of 7am on September 17, the storm was located at 340 kilometres southeast of the Hoang Sa (Paracel) Islands, with sustained winds of up to 100 kilometres near its centre, according to the national weather agency.
It is expected to make landfall in the area from Quang Binh to Quang Nam later on September 18 before weakening to a tropical depression and moving to central Laos.
The coastal stretch from Ha Tinh to Thua Thien Hue is expected to see high waves of 3-5 metres and storm surges of up to 1 metre, flooding lagoons and low-lying areas near river estuaries and the coast.
Tropical storm Noul will also unload extremely heavy rains averaging at 200-300 millimetres on provinces from Ha Tinh to Quang Ngai starting from the afternoon of September 17 to the night of September 18, with some locales forecast to have over 400 millimetres of rain.
Other parts of Vietnam are also expected to see medium to heavy rains over the weekend due to Noul, the fifth storm to affect Vietnam in 2020.
With Noul’s expansive impact, it is expected that Vietnam will evacuate around half a million people from vulnerable areas, especially coastal communities and regions prone to landslides and flash floods.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc issued an urgent telegram to ask the coastal provinces from Thanh Hoa to Khanh Hoa as well as the ministries and agency concerned to remain on high alert to deal with storm.
He called for readiness to evacuate residents and protect crops, homes and other facilities as well as to stockpile essential goods such as foods and medicines to provide for communities likely to be isolated by rains and flooding.
The projected path of Tropical Storm Noul (Photo: NCHMF)
