At 4 am on August 18, the centre of the depression was located over the eastern waters of the northern East Sea. Maximum sustained winds near its centre reached force 6, or 39-49km/h, with gusts up to force 8.
According to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, the depression is expected to move relatively steadily over the next two days, mainly westwards at about 10km/h, while maintaining its current strength.
By around 4 am on August 20, the depression is forecast to be about 760km east of Hainan Island, China, with winds remaining at force 6 and gusts up to force 8.
It is then expected to move very slowly west-northwestwards at about 5-10km/h while maintaining its intensity.
Under the influence of the depression, the eastern waters of the northern East Sea are expected to experience force 6 winds and gusts up to force 8 on August 18, with waves reaching 2-3.5 metres and rough seas.
Forecasters warned that the depression's development remains difficult to predict and urged people to monitor further weather updates.
On land, mountainous and midland areas of northern Vietnam experienced rain and thunderstorms overnight and in the early hours of August 18 due to the combined effects of a low-pressure trough and an upper-level wind convergence zone.
Rainfall recorded between 7 pm on August 17 and 3 am on August 18 exceeded 80mm in several locations. Trung Tam 1 station in Lao Cai recorded 153.8mm, Thinh Vuong in Cao Bang 100.4mm, Cam Khe in Phu Tho 133.4mm and Phuc Trieu in Thai Nguyen 84mm.