At Least Seven Storms Forecast to Afflict Vietnam in Rest of 2019

Between seven to nine storms may occur in the Vietnamese East Sea (South China Sea) in the final months of 2019, with three to four forecast to make landfall and affect Vietnam’s southern and central regions, according to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting. There may be tropical storms in the north of the East Sea, which will likely impact the northern and north-central localities from the second half of August to the first half of September, the center said it its latest forecast for nationwide weather conditions from September 2019 to February 2020. Meanwhile, tropical depressions and typhoons are predicted to mainly exert an impact on the central region from the second half of September to October. The disasters will likely affect the central and southern areas in November and December. The center also warned of strong storms with complicated developments and other dangerous weather conditions such as thunderstorms, hail, and twisters nationwide. Besides, the current hot weather in the northern and central regions will last until the second half of next month. Last year, natural disasters, mostly floods, storms and landslides, killed 181 people and left 37 others missing and caused losses of around VND20 trillion ($858 million) to Vietnam. (SaigonTimesEnglish, nchmf)