While Hurricane Nate fizzles out across the Blue Ridge Mountains, straddling the US states of Tennessee and North Carolina, on the other side of the world another tropical system is making its presence felt in Vietnam.

Tropical Depression 23W has developed in the South China Sea. It is not a particularly strong storm and is not expected to achieve typhoon status, but will be a rainfall event.

In fact, it might even remain too weak to be given a name, but it will bring heavy rains and the threat of floods to parts of central and northern Vietnam.

The tropical depression is currently located around 270km to the northeast of Da Nang. It has now neared its maximum intensity with winds around 60km per hour and gusts nearer 85km/h.

It should be around that strength when it makes landfall near Quang Dong, between Vinh and Dong Hoi in the early hours (GMT) of Tuesday morning.

Thereafter, the winds associated with Tropical Depression 23W will quickly wane. The rain, however, will not.

Vinh already received 102mm of rain Sunday into Monday.

Similar totals are likely across the northern half of Vietnam over the next 24 to 36 hours before the flooding rains move across Laos and Myanmar by the end of Thursday. Widespread floods and disruption are likely.