Thailand’s Meteorological Department has issued its first warning for tropical storm Wipha, which was recorded as a strong tropical storm over the northern South China Sea at 10pm on July 19.
With maximum sustained winds of 93 km/h, the storm is moving towards the Gulf of Tonkin and northern Vietnam, where it is expected to weaken into a tropical depression between July 21 and 22.
As Wipha interacts with the prevailing southwesterly monsoon, Thailand is forecast to experience widespread heavy to very heavy rainfall from July 20 to 24, particularly in the North, Northeast, Central, East, and South.