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Vietnam’s weather agency said the storm spent six days gathering and shedding energy after forming from a tropical disturbance east of the Philippines.

By Monday afternoon, its winds had dropped to around 61 kph, and its movement had nearly stalled in the northwestern East Sea. The depression is forecast to drift slowly southwest, weakening further as it approaches the offshore area of Gia Lai and Dak Lak.

Even in its weakened state, Koto is still stirring up dangerous conditions at sea. Waves of 2–4 meters and strong winds are sweeping across offshore areas from Gia Lai to Dak Lak, creating hazardous zones for fishing vessels and transport boats.

From the night of Dec. 2 through Dec. 3, the eastern parts of Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Dak Lak and Khanh Hoa are expected to see 70–120 mm of rain, with isolated spots exceeding 180 mm. Forecasters warn that the combination of Koto’s circulation and a cold surge pushing down from the north could ramp up the risk of flash floods, landslides and swelling rivers in already saturated areas.

Koto’s journey has been unusually winding. After entering the East Sea on Nov. 25, it strengthened rapidly and peaked near the Southwest Cay. But as the subtropical high, the large pressure system steering the storm, weakened over the weekend, Koto’s path became erratic, repeatedly shifting and gradually bending north before losing force.

Emergency measures have been activated across much of the region. Dak Lak halted all maritime activities from Nov. 26, followed by bans in Khanh Hoa and Lam Dong two days later. Reservoirs from Da Nang to Dak Lak have been lowered to create buffer capacity for incoming floodwaters, with more than 320 million cubic meters reserved for flood control.

The storm has already brought tragedy. Rough seas linked to Koto sank a fishing boat just 300 meters from Binh Thien beach in Khanh Hoa, killing one person and leaving two missing. In Lam Dong, waves overturned a basket boat, leaving one dead. Dozens of aquaculture cages were damaged, and 200 meters of shoreline in Ham Tien eroded under pounding surf.

Meteorologists say the East Sea could still see one or two additional storms or tropical depressions in December, extending an already historic season of tropical systems, the most active in three decades.