Northern provinces are bracing for further bad weather with the second storm in a week tipped to the country.

The National Hydro-meteological Forecast Centre said the strength of the latest storm, named Marakot, was hard to predict because it followed hot on the heels of Storm Goni.

The centre said Storm Goni had weakened into a tropical low, having pushed the total annual rainfall in the northern provinces to 300mm.

Storm Goni is forecast to move west within the next 24-48 hours.

At 10am on August 7 the centre of tropical low pressure is predicted to be about 60km from Quang Ninh province’s Mong Cai city. Wind speeds at the centre of the storm are predicted to fall to 39-49kph,

Severe rough seas are expected in the Bac Bo (Tonkin) Gulf./.