China upgrades alert against Typhoon Krosa

English>>China Society

Editor's Pick

China upgrades alert against Typhoon Krosa

(Xinhua) 13:05, November 02, 2013

Email|Print|Comments

twitter

facebook

Sina Microblog

The National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center on Saturday upgraded its wave warning from yellow level to orange as Typhoon Krosa strengthened to a strong typhoon on Friday night.

Krosa, the 29th typhoon of the year, will bring waves as high as nine meters in the northern part of the South China Sea from Saturday noon till Sunday noon, the center said.

The typhoon is expected to whip up peaks of up to 3.5 meters in the Taiwan Strait and along the coast of Guangdong Province, while waves up to three meters will be seen in the eastern coastal areas of Hainan, according to the center.

The center also warned of storm tides, with water levels expected to increase by as much as 80 centimeters in coastal areas of Guangdong and Fujian provinces from Saturday morning to Sunday morning.

The center urged ships to be cautious. It also advised coastal authorities to take precautionary measures, carry out patrols and make sure dikes and fishery facilities are secure.

In addition, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) issued a yellow alert for Krosa Saturday, the second tier in the country's four-color weather warning system, as it moves towards China's southern coastal regions.

At 5 a.m., its center was at the northern part of the South China Sea and about 605 kilometers east of the city of Wanning in southern China's Hainan Province.

The NMC forecast that it will move westward at a speed of 10 to 15 km per hour towards Hainan as its force slowly weakens.

Local governments should take precautions against the typhoon while ships in areas on the route of Krosa should come back to ports, the NMC said.

On Friday, the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters announced a fourth-level emergency response, the lowest level, asking local authorities to monitor the typhoon, forecast its movement and ensure people's safety.

China has a four-tier, color-coded weather warning system, with red representing the most severe, followed by orange, yellow and blue.