By this morning, August 28, the centre of the tropical depression over the northeastern East Sea had sustained winds of 39-61 km/h and gusts up to 75 km/h.
The tropical depression is forecasted to intensify to level 7 with gusts up to level 9 by the morning of August 29, moving west-northwest at 15-20 km/h and likely to strengthen further over the waters of the Hoang Sa (Paracel) Islands.
It may intensify to level 7 by August 30, with gusts reaching level 9 and move into the waters from Nghe An to Danang.
Over the following 48 to 72 hours, the tropical depression is expected to move westward at about 20 km/h and steadily weaken.
This evening, localities from Thanh Hoa to Lam Dong, as well as the southern region, will see scattered showers and thunderstorms with 10-30 mm of rain common and local downpours exceeding 80 mm. Forecasters also warn of flash floods and landslides in Lao Cai, Quang Ninh, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Tri, and Quang Ngai.