China renews most severe alert for Typhoon Doksuri

BEIJING, July 27 (Xinhua) -- China's national observatory on Thursday morning renewed 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.

The typhoon, observed over the ocean about 220 km southwest of Eluanbi at the southernmost tip of China's Taiwan at 5 a.m. Thursday, is expected to move northwest at a speed of 10 to 15 km per hour with increased intensity, the National Meteorological Center said in a statement.

It 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, Fujian, Zhejiang and Guangdong will experience gales from Thursday morning to 8 a.m. Friday. 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, Taiwan, Fujian and Zhejiang will experience downpours and some parts of Taiwan will see heavy downpours of 250 to 400 mm, 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.