Typhoon Kujira will enter the Gulf of Tonkin tomorrow morning.

The storm will enter the Gulf of Tonkin with maximum wind speeds of 75 km/h (level 8), causing heavy rain in the northeastern provinces and northern mountainous regions from tomorrow afternoon. The risk of flash floods and landslides is very high.

According to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, at 8 PM on June 22nd, the center of Typhoon Kujira was located southeast of Hainan Island (China), with maximum wind speeds reduced to 75 km/h (level 8). Tonight, the typhoon will maintain a northwest direction at a speed of 10-15 km/h and will enter the Gulf of Tonkin tomorrow morning, causing strong winds of level 6-8.

As of 7 PM on June 23rd, the storm's center was approximately 100 km east of Mong Cai (Quang Ninh province), maintaining its intensity at level 8. The storm will then move inland into China, near the Vietnamese border.

From tomorrow afternoon, the storm will bring heavy rain to the northeastern provinces of Northern Vietnam and the northern mountainous regions. Rivers and streams are likely to experience floods with a water level increase of 2-3 meters. The provinces of Quang Ninh, Lang Son, Cao Bang, Bac Can, Bac Giang, Thai Nguyen, Tuyen Quang, and Ha Giang are at risk of flash floods, landslides, and mudslides.

Forecast of the storm's path and affected areas. Photo: NCHMF.

On the afternoon of June 22nd, the Central Steering Committee for Disaster Prevention and Control issued a directive to coastal provinces from Quang Ninh to Quang Binh, requesting them to inform owners of vessels operating at sea about the storm's developments so that they can proactively evacuate or avoid entering dangerous areas. Over the next 24 hours, the dangerous area is the northern Gulf of Tonkin, the sea area bounded by longitudes 108 to 113 and north of latitude 18.

Eight mountainous provinces, including Ha Giang, Lao Cai, Cao Bang, Bac Kan, Lang Son, Bac Giang, Thai Nguyen, and Tuyen Quang, need to closely monitor rainfall and flood developments; residents living near rivers and streams, and downstream of reservoirs and dams, should be warned to proactively take precautions against flash floods and landslides.

Formed from a low-pressure area south of the Paracel Islands, the area intensified into a tropical depression by the morning of June 20th and developed into a typhoon the following day, internationally named Kujira. This first typhoon in the South China Sea brought rain to many areas in central Vietnam, ending the prolonged heatwave that had lasted since the beginning of May and alleviating the drought.

According to VNE