HAIKOU (China): China’s Hainan Province in the south has issued a Level IV typhoon alert at 8 am on Sunday, following the detection of Typhoon Tapah, the 16th storm of the year, reported Xinhua.
At 7 am on Sunday, the centre of Typhoon Tapah was located over the South China Sea, about 445 kilometres (km) southeast of Dianbai District in Maoming City, Guangdong Province, with maximum winds of 23 metres per second near its core, according to the Hainan provincial meteorological observatory.
Typhoon Tapah is forecast to move northwestward at a speed of 10 to 15 km per hour while gradually intensifying.
It is expected to approach the coastal areas of central and western Guangdong and make landfall between the cities of Zhuhai and Zhanjiang from early Sunday morning to noon as a severe tropical storm or typhoon. Its intensity will gradually weaken after landfall, according to meteorological authorities.
As a consequence of the typhoon, the Qiongzhou Strait and Beibu Gulf will see easterly winds of force five on Sunday, with gusts reaching force seven to eight during thunderstorms.
Wind forces in the eastern sea areas of Hainan Island will gradually increase to force seven to nine with gusts of force 10 to 11. Sea areas near the Xisha and Zhongsha Islands will experience strengthening wind forces, reaching force six to eight with gusts of force 8 to 10.
China has a four-tier emergency response system, with Level I representing the highest severity. – BERNAMA-XINHUA
