A tropical depression to the north of the East Sea has strengthened into a storm, the first hitting the waters this year, according to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting (NCHMF).

At 7am on June 30, the eye of the storm, internationally named CHABA, was about 430km from Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago. The strongest wind near its eye was 62-74 km per hour.

The storm is forecast to mostly move northwest at a speed of 10-15km per hour between July 1 and 3.

By 7am on July 3, the storm is predicted to see the strongest wind close to its eye reaching level 9 (75-88km per hour), with gusts at level 12.

By 7am on July 4, it will change its direction to move north-northwest with a speed of about 5-10 km, with the intensity tending to weaken./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency