At 7 a.m. on Saturday, the depression was moving northwest at a speed of 10-15 kph, with maximum winds reaching 61 kph.

The forecast route of a potential tropical storm in the East Sea.

By 7 p.m., the depression could intensify into a storm, located about 530 km northeast of the Paracel Islands, according to the forecast center.

The storm's winds will strengthen to 62-74 kph, with the system continuing its northwest movement at around 10 kph, potentially gaining strength further.

By 7 p.m. on Sunday, the storm will be in the northern part of the East Sea, with winds reaching 75-88 kph, maintaining its current direction.

The Hong Kong Meteorological Observatory has forecast that the storm could peak at around 105 kph on Saturday before moving into mainland China. The weakening system may bring rain to northern mountainous provinces.

On Friday, Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development urged coastal provinces from Quang Ninh to Quang Ngai to closely monitor the situation, issue warnings to ships, and prepare rescue teams.

Since the beginning of the year, six storms have occurred in the East Sea. The most recent, Storm Nongfa, made landfall in Ha Tinh and Quang Tri in central Vietnam with weak intensity on Aug. 30, causing minimal damage.

Prior to that, Typhoon Kajiki struck Thanh Hoa and Ha Tinh on Aug. 25, causing nine deaths, 77 injuries, and extensive damage to over 38,600 homes, with 510 houses collapsing. The total economic damage was approximately VND2.9 trillion (US$109.8 million).

The National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting predicts that 5-7 more storms or tropical depressions will form in the East Sea by the end of the year, with 2-3 of them potentially affecting Vietnam's mainland, mainly from central provinces to the south.

Tropical depression near Vietnam's central coast likely to strengthen into storm today

A tropical depression in Vietnam's East Sea is expected to intensify into a storm near the Hoang Sa (Paracel Islands) special zone, with maximum winds of 61 kph.

Tropical depression hits northern Vietnam, bringing heavy rain and strong winds

A tropical depression made landfall along northern Vietnam's coast early Tuesday, bringing heavy rain, strong winds, and increasing the risk of landslides across the northern and north-central regions.

Tropical depression intensifies into storm, to bring heavy rain to central Vietnam

A tropical depression formed over the East Sea strengthened into a storm after one day on Wednesday morning and is forecast to bring prolonged heavy rainfall across central and south-central Vietnam.