Barijat was about 780 kilometres east-northeast of China’s Hainan Island as of 13:00h on September 11.
It is moving westwards at a speed of 10-15 kilometres and is likely to gain strength over the next 24 hours.
The storm is expected to reach the Leizhou Peninsula, just 270 kilometres from Mong Cai in Vietnam’s Quang Ninh province on the afternoon of September 13, clocking wind speeds of between 75-90 kilometres per hour and gusting to over 118 kilometres per hour.
Barijat has been rated at number 3 on Vietnam’s five-level disaster risk scale, meaning the risk is high.
Meanwhile another serious storm in the northwest Pacific, Mangkhut, has developed into a super typhoon with maximum wind speeds of 185-200 kilometres per hour and is projected to approach the north of the East Sea in the next four days.
The national disaster management agency has urged authorities in coastal areas to monitor the developments of the tropical storm closely and instruct seaborne vessels to move away from or avoid proximity to the danger zone.
The agency also called for preparations to deal with floods in urban and agricultural production areas and to check the safety of dykes and reservoirs.
Meanwhile mountainous provinces were ordered to issue warnings to residents in areas prone to flash floods and landslides.
