The National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting located the center of the depression approximately 240 km east-northeast of the Hoang Sa (Paracel) Islands at 7:00 a.m. on Thursday.
The system was moving west-northwest at roughly 25 kph, packing maximum sustained winds of 50-61 kph and gusts up to 75-88 kph.
By 7:00 a.m. on Friday, the depression is forecast to intensify into a storm over the waters southeast of China's Hainan Island. Wind speeds are expected to reach 61-88 kph, with gusts hitting 103-133 kph.
The storm, the first to form in Vietnam's waters this year, will continue its northwestern trajectory into the northern waters of the Gulf of Tonkin by Saturday morning, maintaining a sustained strength of 61-74 kph.
A predicted trajectory of a tropical depression in the East Sea. Graphic by Vietnam Disaster Monitoring System
