HCMC – Super Typhoon Noru, the fourth storm to hit Vietnam this year, has been strengthening since last night and is expected to intensify further as it is headed for the coast of Central Vietnam, said the national weather forecast center.

The typhoon was in the southern part of Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) Islands and some 360 kilometers east of the mainland from Danang to Quang Ngai in the central region as of 7 a.m. today, September 27. The storm brought strong winds at 150-183 kilometers per hour, gusting at level 17. Noru is moving westward at 25 kilometers per hour in the next 12 hours and is likely to strengthen. By 7 p.m. today, the eye of the typhoon could be spotted around 170 kilometers southeast of Danang and some 120 kilometers east of Quang Nam and Quang Ngai, packing winds up to 183 kilometers per hour. Noru may keep moving in a westerly direction at 20-25 kilometers per hour and make landfall in the next 12-24 hours. The system could maintain the same direction at about 20 kilometers per hour to deeply enter the mainland before weakening into a tropical depression and then a low depression area in the Thailand area in the next two days. Aside from bringing strong winds, Noru may be accompanied by high tides, extremely rough seas and flooding across coastal areas, including those from Quang Binh to Ninh Thuan, from Binh Thuan to Ca Mau. Also, it could dump heavy rains in Quang Tri, Thua Thien-Hue, Danang, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai and Kon Tum from today to tomorrow. Torrential rains are likely to expand to north-central provinces and the southern part of the northern region.