Vietnam's National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting reported that as of 7:00 a.m. on Wednesday, the storm lay centered in the northern East Sea and was packing maximum sustained winds of 74 kph (46 mph), with gusts up to 102 kph, moving east at 3 to 5 kph.
The storm is projected to head toward the northwestern coast of Luzon Island in the Philippines by Thursday morning.
Land interaction is expected to weaken Kujira into a tropical depression with winds of 39-49 km/h and gusts up to 88 kph as it tracks east-northeast.
The predicted trajectory of Storm Kujira. Graphic by Vietnam Disaster Monitoring System
By Friday morning, the system is forecast to decay further into a low-pressure area over northeastern Luzon. Meteorological agencies in Japan and Hong Kong concur that Kujira will weaken within 24 hours without threatening the Vietnamese mainland.
