China raises alert on typhoon Utor to highest level

China's maritime authority on Tuesday continued to issue an orange warning for waves and a blue warning for storm tides regarding Utor, the 11th typhoon to hit China this year.

According to the National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center, Utor is expected to make landfall in south China's Guangdong Province on Wednesday night.

The center warned that, from noon Tuesday to noon Wednesday, there will be waves as high as 10 meters in the northern part of the South China Sea and waves that will measure up to 5.5 meters in the western part of coastal areas in Guangdong.

Utor is also expected to whip up sea waves of 3.5 to 4.5 meters in the northeastern part of south China's Hainan Province, as well as waves of up to 4 meters in the eastern part of Guangdong's coastal areas.

Plans for seaside bathing and sea travel in affected areas should be canceled, and coastal organs should take precautionary measures, the center urged.

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

The National Commission for Disaster Reduction also issued a disaster early warning on Monday morning, asking local governments to prepare for the arrival of Utor to minimize losses.

The typhoon may also be felt in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Fujian and Yunnan provinces in southern China, according to the commission.

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