Nalgae, the 6^th of its kind to hit the East Sea this year, was downgraded after sweeping across China’s Hainan island and is heading toward Vietnam’s central coast, according to the National Hydro-meteorological Forecasting Centre.

At 04.00am on October 5, the system was centred at 18.4 degrees north latitude and 108.1 degrees east longitude, about 190km off the coast from  Nghe An to Quang Tri provinces. It was moving at a speed of between 39-49 km/h near its centre.

In the next 24 hours, it is expected to travel between north and north-southwest and continue to weaken when it moves further inland.

The system is forecast to dump heavy rains on central provinces from Nghe An to Quang Tri, said weather experts.

Ha Tinh province on October 4 mobilised forces to evacuate local residents in coastal districts of Nghi Xuan, Thach Ha, Loc Ha, Cam Xuyen and Ky Anh to safer areas, and reinforce its dyke system. Soldiers and volunteers helped farmers harvest thousands of hectares of the summer-autumn rice crop in the wake of severe flooding to be caused by heavy rains.