Storm passes but new tropical depression affects coastal waters
Another tropical depression entered the western part of the South China Sea late on July 13, with winds up to 60 kilometers per hour, reports the Central Hydrometeorology Forecast Centre (CHFC).
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Tropical Storm number 4 (Soudeler) has passed through the northern Vietnam area on July 12-13, after drenching the Red River Delta with up to 250 mm of rain.
The new tropical depression, so far unnamed, is heading to the northwest, averaging 20km per hour. Strong winds and rough seas are predicted for Vietnam’s southern coast.
The CHFC’s Deputy Director Le Thanh Hai said that the new tropical depression is likely to move toward China in the region of the Taiwan Strait rather than toward Vietnam.
Vietnam may suffer three or four more typhoons
The CHFC has forecast that Vietnam will have to confront three or four more strong storms this year.
Dr. Pham Duc Thi from the Centre for Hydro-meteorological and Environment Science and Technology said that th El Nino phenominon has returned, encouraging the formation of of storms and tropical depressions.
El Nino affects Southeast Asia in three ways, Thi said. Droughts are intensified, storms are stronger, and they tend to impact Vietnam further to the south. The more frequent appearance of El Nino is related to rising sea water temperatures resulting from climate change.
Tran Van Sap of the CHFC said that El Nino has returned earlier than expected, forcing the center to update its general forecast of storms. “We may have to ‘welcome’ strong and abnormal storms this year,” he said. “This, however, is a long-range forecast.”
CHFC Chief Le Thanh Hai agreed that climate change has intensified abnormal weather phenomena. He noted that the recent flood on the Gam river in mountainous Cao Bang province near the Chinese border was higher than ever measured before.
Source:vietnamnet.vn
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