China issues alert as tropical storm Rumbia nears

BEIJING, July 1 (Xinhua) -- The government issued a national early disaster warning on Monday morning asking local governments to prepare for the arrival of tropical storm Rumbia.

The National Commission for Disaster Reduction and the Ministry of Civil Affairs issued the alert at 11 a.m. on Monday, as Rumbia turned into a strong tropical storm earlier in the morning.

Rumbia, the sixth tropical storm to hit China this year, is expected to make landfall in coastal areas in south China's Guangdong and Hainan provinces Monday night or Tuesday morning, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said in a statement on its website.

The storm may also be felt in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and the provinces of Guizhou and Yunnan in southwest China, according to the statement.

Local authorities have been asked to be on duty around the clock, enhance monitoring, issue early warnings, evacuate residents in threatened areas in time and call fishing boats back to port.

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