Soudelor becomes a tropical storm before making landfall in south China

Tropical Storm Soudelor formed from a depression of the same name this evening and is headed for landfall on the southern tip of the Leizhou Peninsula with a second landfall in northern Vietnam by Sunday night local time.

The current storm track shows the most probable storm path to pass at the southern tip of the peninsula through the Qiongzhou Strait just north of Haikou on the Island of Hainan. The Hong Kong Observatory tracked this storm at a speed of 22 km/hr moving essentially due west.

After passing through the Qiongzhou strait (also known as the Hainan Strait), Soudelor will pass through the Gulf of Tonkin and make landfall by Sunday night between Quang Nihn and Hai Phong along the northern coast.

Storm Soudeler to make landfall on July 12

In a weather bulletin released on July 11, the centre said that at 16.00, storm Soudeler - the fourth of its kind to form in the East Sea this year – was positioned at 20.1 degrees north latitude and 113.5 degrees east longitude, about 330km southeast of Leizhou peninsula of China. It was packing winds of between 62-74kph near its eye.

The storm is expected to move west and north west in the next 24 hours at a speed of 20-25kph and dump heavy rains on northern coastal provinces from Quang Ninh to Hai Phong. It will weaken into a tropical depression when it moves further inland. It will cause strong winds and rough seas in the northern part of the East Sea and northern coastal provinces. Mountainous provinces are warned of flash floods and landslides. (VietnamNet Bridge)