HANOI: Tropical Storm Wipha (Storm No. 3) is closing in on northern Vietnam after entering mainland southern China early on July 20, bringing heavy rains, strong winds and heightened risks of flash floods and landslides across large parts of the country.

Travellers to Vietnam have been warned to “expect travel disruption” as a tropical storm approaches tourist hotspots on its northern coast. Storm Wipha is forecast to bring heavy rain, strong winds and flooding when it makes landfall on Tuesday.

Thailand is bracing for heavy rain this week after tropical storm Wipha triggered the opening of an around-the-clock monitoring centre.

Wipha, a Thai name, passed over the Philippines at tropical storm strength and drenched parts of Taiwan on Saturday. In the Philippines, the storm intensified seasonal monsoon rains, leaving at least a villager dead in floodwaters in northern Cagayan province.

Wipha is expected to strengthen, with winds reaching level 10-11 and gusts up to level 14 as it moves west-southwest at around 15km/h.

Storm No. 3, internationally known as Typhoon Wipha, passed north of China’s Leizhou Peninsula on the morning of July 21 and entered the northern Gulf of Tonkin, posing a growing threat to Vietnam’s northern and north-central coastal regions,