Journal of Marine Science and Engineering Article The Contribution of Forerunner to Storm Surges along the Vietnam Coast Tam Thi Trinh 1,2,*, Charitha Pattiaratchi 2 and Toan Bui 2,3 1 Vietnam National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, No. 8 Phao Dai Lang Street, Lang Thuong Commune, Dong Da District, Hanoi 11512, Vietnam 2 Oceans Graduate School and the UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Perth WA 6009, Australia;
[email protected] (C.P.);
[email protected] (T.B.) 3 Faculty of Marine Sciences, Hanoi University of Natural Resource and Environment, No. 41A Phu Dien Road, Phu Dien Commune, North-Tu Liem District 11916, Hanoi, Vietnam * Correspondence:
[email protected]; Tel.: +84-988-132-520 Received: 3 May 2020; Accepted: 7 July 2020; Published: 10 July 2020 Abstract: Vietnam, located in the tropical region of the northwest Pacific Ocean, is frequently impacted by tropical storms. Occurrence of extreme water level events associated with tropical storms are often unpredicted and put coastal infrastructure and safety of coastal populations at risk. Hence, an improved understanding of the nature of storm surges and their components along the Vietnam coast is required. For example, a higher than expected extreme storm surge during Typhoon Kalmegi (2014) highlighted the lack of understanding on the characteristics of storm surges in Vietnam. Physical processes that influence the non-tidal water level associated with tropical storms can persist for up to 14 days, beginning 3–4 days prior to storm landfall and cease up to 10 days after the landfall of the typhoon.