Tropical storm Wutip slams Vietnam

Tropical storm Wutip set its sites on Vietnam's eastern coast, and was expected to hit the central Ha Tinh and Quang Tri provinces late Monday afternoon.

More than 75 people are reported missing after vessels sank in the South China Sea, ahead of Wutip making landfall along the Vietnamese coast.

The eye of the storm was likely to make landfall with winds ranging from 56 to 62 miles per hour and maximum sustained winds topping out at 90 miles per hour, the strongest storm to hit the region since 2006, according to the Vietnam National Hydro-Meteorological Forecast Center.

Over the next two days the storm is expected to move northwest around 10 miles per hour, and will then weaken into a tropical depression.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung urged leaders of provinces in Wutip's path to cooperate with national agencies in preparation for storm damage. At an emergency meeting Sunday, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai ordered agencies to begin preventative measures to help evacuate people.

While only about 8,000 people had been evacuated by Monday morning, Vietnamese officials may evacuate as many as 140,000 people.