Tropical storm Conson gathers strength as it moves towards Vietnam

Tropical storm Conson is forecast to strengthen as it moves west-northwest towards Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) Islands after drenching the Philippines, according to the national weather agency.

As of 7am on September 9, the system was located at 670 kilometres to the east-southeast of Hoang Sa, sustaining wind speeds of 75-90 kilometres per hour near its eyes and with gusts of up to 120 kilometres per hour.

Over the next 24 hours, Conson, the fifth storm to hit Vietnam this year, will travel at the speeds of 15-20 kilometres per hour and increase in intensity.

The storm will be located at 280 kilometres to the east of Hoang Sa as of 7am on September 10, with wind speeds of up to 100 kilometres per hour and gusts of over 120 kilometres per hour.

The national weather agency said the track and intensity of Conson will be highly complicated over the coming days due to the interaction with super typhoon Chanthu off the Philippine coast.

After Conson, it is forecast that there will be 1-2 more tropical cyclones in the East Sea/South China Sea in September.