Path of Storm Goni storm and projected path of Storm Atsani. Photo nchmf.gov.vn

HÀ NỘI - The tropical low-pressure system which Storm Goni weakened into on Thursday afternoon turned into a low-pressure system on Friday morning when approaching the coasts of central provinces from Quảng Ngãi to Phú Yên, as yet another storm bore down on the country.

According to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, under the influences of the tropical low-pressure, rainfall of 150-300mm blanketed provinces of Quảng Nam to Bình Định.

On Friday, water levels increased in rivers in Quảng Ngãi and Bình Định.

Floods are expected to appear in rivers in provinces from Thừa Thiên-Huế to Phú Yên and Central Highland provinces late Friday or within Saturday.

There is a high risk of flash floods and landslides in mountainous areas, low areas, low areas or cities in provinces from Thừa Thiên Huế to Bình Định and the Central Highlands.

Experts warned of sudden flash floods in rivers or streams in mountainous areas, which are usually accompanied by landslides and rockslides.

People should be alert for signals of flash flood such as torrential rains in upper parts of rivers for days, changing river water colour and abnormally loud sounds from underground.

Meanwhile, the weather centre also reported about a new storm named Atsani which was projected to enter the East Sea on Saturday morning, making it the 11th storm in the area this year.

At 7am on Friday, the storm’s eye was about 180km off the southeastern of Taiwan Island with wind speeds of 90-100km per hour, sometimes gusting to 118-133km per hour.

The storm was projected to move west-northwest at 10-15km per hour on Saturday and then move westward or southwest at 25-3 km per hour on Sunday. It will weaken into a tropical low-pressure system.

At 1pm on Sunday, the centre of the tropical low-pressure is predicted to be about 130km north-northeast of Hoàng Sa (Paracel) Archipelago with the strongest winds of 40-60km per hour. 

The Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control on Friday asked authorities in coastal provinces from Quảng Ninh to Phú Yên to closely follow the development of Storm Atsani.

They were asked to timely inform vessels about the storm so they could take preventive measures and avoid or leave potentially dangerous areas.

Authorities in the coastal provinces were told to prepare staff and equipment for timely response if needed. VNS