Tropical storm Hagibis, the 25th this year, is approaching the
Nansha islands in the South China Sea after affecting tens of
thousands of fishermen in Vietnam.
Hagibis, meaning "rapidity" in the Tagalog language of the
Philippines, was located at 9.8 degrees north latitude and 113.2
degrees east longitude at 2:00 a.m. on Thursday, the Hainan
provincial meteorological observatory said.
It was packing winds of about 100 kilometers per hour at its eye
and sweeping northwestward at a speed of 10 kilometers per hour,
the observatory said.
The observatory forecast wind and rain for the coastal areas of
Hainan on Thursday and Friday and gales of up to 110 kilometers per
hour.
On Wednesday, Vietnam asked nearby countries to give shelter to
thousands of its fishermen caught up in the tropical storm.
(Xinhua News Agency November 22, 2007)