The direction of the tropical depression. Photo courtesy of the National Centre for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting

HÀ NỘI — A tropical depression has entered the South China Sea (called East Sea in Việt Nam) after crossing over Luzon island of the Philippines and is likely to strengthen into a storm, according to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting (NCHMF).

At 7am on Friday the tropical depression was 90km west of Luzon island with wind speeds of 50-60km per hour near its centre.

Over the next 24 hours, the tropical depression is forecast to move northwest at a speed of 15km per hour and is likely to develop into a storm.

At 7am on Saturday, the storm’s eye is likely to be about 470km east-northeast of the Hoàng Sa (Paracel) Archipelago with maximum wind speeds reaching 90km per hour.

In the next 48 hours, the storm is likely to move northwest at 15-20kph. As of 7am on Sunday, the storm’s centre is expected to be 170km south of Hong Kong (China) with maximum wind speed of 90kph.

According to a report from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, in 2020, there will be at least 11-13 storms in Việt Nam, of which five are likely to hit the East Sea, especially in the south, where there is not much experience in storm prevention. — VNS