The East Sea may welcome a storm in the middle of next week.

Dr. Hoang Phuc Lam, Deputy Director of the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, said that in the eastern region of the Philippines, there is a tropical depression active.

It is forecasted that on September 30 - October 1, the tropical depression is likely to strengthen into a storm.

"By around October 4-6, the storm is likely to enter the northern East Sea, with a probability of 60-70%. The Vietnam Meteorological Agency is closely monitoring this tropical depression," said Mr. Lam.

Previously, on September 24, a low pressure area formed in the central East Sea, which later strengthened into a tropical depression, making landfall from Quang Binh to Thua Thien Hue provinces. The tropical depression has caused widespread heavy rain across the country in recent days, with the heaviest rain in the North Central and Northern provinces, including the capital Hanoi.

The Office of the National Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control said that as of 9:00 a.m. on September 29, floods and rains had left eight people dead and missing.

According to the climate forecast bulletin for the period of October 1-30 of the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, in October, storms and tropical depressions are likely to appear in the East Sea about 1-2 times and may affect the mainland of our country.

At the same time, cold air is starting to increase in frequency and intensity. Moderate and heavy rains are still likely to occur in the Central, Central Highlands and Southern regions during this period.

Specifically, total rainfall during this period in the Northern, Central Highlands and Southern regions was generally at a level approximately above the average of many years (5-15% higher); in the Central region, it was approximately below (5-15% lower) compared to the average of the same period.

In addition, the meteorological agency previously forecast that from now until the end of 2023, there will likely be about 2-4 storms/tropical depressions in the East Sea, of which about 1-2 will directly affect our mainland. Be on guard against storms with complex developments in both trajectory and intensity.