At 4 am on November 10, the storm was located at around 12.3 0 N latitude and 110.3 0 E longitude in the waters of  provinces from Binh Dinh to Ninh Thuan, with the strongest winds close to its centre reaching between 75 km and 90 km per hour.

Over the course of the coming 12 hours, the weather pattern is forecast to move west at speeds of 10-15 km per hour, move deeper inland from Binh Dinh to Ninh Thuan at which point it will then weaken into a tropical depression.

Over the next 12 hours to 24 hours, the tropical depression will then continue to move in the west direction at a speed of approximately 20 km per hour before weakening into a low-pressure area.

Due to the impact of the storm, on November 10, central provinces are hit by torrential rain, accompanied by thunderstorms and strong winds.

At an earlier meeting of the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, Ministries, Tran Quang Hoai, deputy head of the Central Steering Committee asked sectors and localities to stay active in responding to storm  Etau and subsequent storms as a low pressure system is intensifying and is likely to become the 13th storm to hit Vietnam’s central region in the time ahead.

Coastal localities must keep a close watch on Etau’s movements while also closely managing the operations of vessels and keeping them updated on storm developments.

It is imperative to work out plans to ensure the safety of local residents and property as well as tourists on islands and coastal areas, he said.

To cope with the situation, central provinces have evacuated thousands of local people from high- risk areas to safe ground.