China's coastal provinces activate emergency responses as Typhoon Haikui approaches

FUZHOU, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- Coastal provinces in east and south China have activated or maintained their typhoon emergency responses as Haikui, the 11th typhoon of this year, moves closer.

East China's Fujian Province has upgraded its typhoon emergency response to Level II, the second-highest level.

The provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters raised the response level at 9 a.m. Monday.

China's national observatory on Monday morning issued a yellow alert for Typhoon Haikui, the third most severe warning in its four-tier typhoon warning system, as the 11th typhoon of this year is expected to bring gales and heavy rain to southern and eastern parts of the country.

The typhoon, observed at 23.2 degrees north latitude and 119.6 degrees east longitude at 9 a.m. on Monday, is expected to move northwest at a speed of 10 km per hour, the National Meteorological Center said.

It will make landfall somewhere in the coastal areas stretching from Zhangpu County in Fujian to Huilai County in south China's Guangdong Province on Tuesday morning and further decrease in intensity, the center said.

Haikui is expected to bring downpours in most parts of Fujian from Monday to Wednesday, with the cumulative rainfall in some areas reaching 600 mm, said Huang Zhigang, chief service expert of the provincial meteorological bureau.

As of 10 a.m. Monday, services of 68 passenger shipping routes and 166 passenger ferries had been suspended. More than 100 water-related projects under construction had been temporarily halted, according to the Fujian Maritime Safety Administration.

In Guangdong Province, the provincial maritime safety administration has maintained a Level III emergency response, the third-highest level, for Haikui.

Guangdong expects Haikui to bring torrential downpours and strong winds in its eastern areas, from Monday night to Tuesday, according to the province's meteorological observatory.

As of 3 p.m. Monday, 23 passenger routes in eastern Guangdong had been suspended.