At 10 a.m., 40 km east of Mong Cai (Quang Ninh), tropical storm Ragasa weakened to a tropical depression, the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting reported.
The government issued two official dispatches in response to the storm. Quang Ninh, Hung Yen, Hai Phong, and Nghe An provinces prohibited ships from going out to sea. Six wards in Mong Cai city and several wards and communes in Hai Phong suspended classes today as a precautionary measure. Vietnam Airlines and several other airlines rescheduled numerous flights in Thanh Hoa, Hai Phong, and Da Nang.
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Tropical storm Ragasa weakens to a tropical depression. Photo: NCHMF |
Tropical storm Ragasa weakens to a tropical depression. Photo: NCHMF
Ragasa is the 9th storm in the East Sea this year. Forming on 18/9 from a tropical depression off the coast of the Philippines, it intensified to a super typhoon three days later and reached the East Sea on the evening of 22/9. It peaked as a category 17 super typhoon with winds of 221 km/h, surpassing Yagi in 2024 as the strongest storm in the East Sea in 70 years.
On 23/9, the storm swept through Taiwan, causing a reservoir to burst at the headwaters of the Ma Thai An River. The resulting floodwaters carried debris downstream, destroying a bridge over the river and causing widespread flooding in several towns, submerging homes and sweeping away vehicles. Initial reports indicate 15 deaths and 17 people missing due to the flooding.
Yesterday, the storm hit the coastal city of Jiangmen, Guangdong province (China) with winds of 241 km/h, surpassing the 196 km/h record set by typhoon Mangkhut in 2018.
Currently, typhoon Bualoi is east of the Philippines and is expected to enter the East Sea on the night of 26/9.
Gia Chinh
