Super typhoon Doksuri to severely impact China's Fujian, Guangdong

BEIJING, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Super typhoon Doksuri is expected to become the strongest typhoon to make landfall in the south of China's Fujian Province since 2017, and the most powerful typhoon to affect eastern Guangdong in nearly a decade, the National Meteorological Center said in a statement on Wednesday.

The national observatory on Wednesday morning issued a red alert for Typhoon Doksuri, the most severe warning in its four-tier warning system, as the fifth typhoon of this year is expected to bring gales and heavy rain to the eastern and southern parts of the country.

It will enter the northeastern part of the South China Sea between Wednesday evening and Thursday morning and then move to the coastal areas of Fujian and Guangdong, the center said.

The typhoon, observed over the ocean about 290 kilometers south of Eluanbi at the southernmost tip of China's Taiwan at 2 p.m. Wednesday, is expected to move northwest at a speed of 10 to 15 kilometers per hour. The maximum wind speed near Doksuri's eye could reach super typhoon levels of 55 meters per second, according to the center.

The severe typhoon will most likely make landfall in the coastal areas of Jinjiang city in east China's Fujian Province and the bordering areas of Fujian Province and Guangdong Province, the center said.

Some coastal areas around the Bashi Channel, the South China Sea, the Taiwan Strait, as well as coastal regions of Taiwan and Fujian, will experience gales from 2 p.m. Wednesday to 2 p.m. Thursday. The maximum wind force in some of the aforementioned regions will reach 20.8 to 36.9 meters per second, according to the center.

During this period, parts of east China's Zhejiang Province will experience downpours of 100 to 150 millimeters and parts of Taiwan will experience heavy downpours of 250 to 400 millimeters, the center said.

The meteorological center has issued an advisory suspending both indoor and outdoor gatherings, as well as dangerous outdoor operations, and recommended the timely transfer of people living in vulnerable housing.

It has also called for emergency typhoon preparations and precautions against possible geological disasters.

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