China renews red alert for Typhoon Bavi

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea was on high alert as Typhoon Bavi made landfall early on Thursday, dumping heavy rains and uprooting trees.

The DPRK's KCTV state television broke into broadcasts overnight to report on the storm, showing downed trees and building debris on roads, a sign of the heightened concern after heavy rains earlier this month caused flooding and damaged crops.

China's national observatory renewed a red alert, the highest warning level, for Typhoon Bavi at 6 am Thursday, which is expected to bring gales and rainstorms to Northeast China.

The typhoon, the eighth of this year, is expected to move northward at a speed of 40-50 km per hour before making landfall in coastal areas between Donggang city of Liaoning province and North Pyongan province in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea Thursday morning, the National Meteorological Center said.

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

Xinhua - Reuters

Rare typhoon to bring rain, gales to Liaoning