The storm is strengthening at a worrying rate, according to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

Storm Nakri, the sixth Vietnam will experience this year, is expected to hit coastal areas between Quang Ngai and Ninh Thuan provinces on Sunday, November 10, Zing reports.

As of 7am on November 6, the storm was located 380 kilometers from the Southwest Cay Islet of Truong Sa. In the next 48 hours, the center forecasts that it will change direction, moving westwards at 5 km/h. In the afternoon of November 8, Nakri will be 220 kilometers from Southeast Cay Islet, with wind speeds as strong as 100–135 km/h in areas near the center of the storm.

In the coming days, the storm could approach Vietnam's southern-central regions at a speed of 10 km/h. On November 10, Storm Nakri may change direction again, this time towards the west-northwest before entering seas off Quang Ninh and Ninh Thuan. After the storm makes landfall in Vietnam it will weaken into a tropical depression before it reaches Cambodia.

According to VnExpress, the Hong Kong Observatory forecasts that the storm could reach maximum wind speed of 110 km/h on Sunday when it nears Phu Yen Province, while the US Naval Research Laboratory predicts the maximum wind speed when the storm arrives in Vietnam will be 74 km/h.

Nakri could be this year’s strongest storm, said the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, adding that coastal regions from Thua Thien-Hue to Phu Yen provinces and the eastern part of Gia Lai and Kon Tum provinces should expect heavy rain from November 9 to 11.

[Photo via Tuoi Tre]