China issues yellow alert for Typhoon Mekkhala

BEIJING -- China's national observatory on Monday issued a yellow alert for Typhoon Mekkhala, which will bring gales to the country's eastern and southern coastal regions.

At 5 pm Monday, Mekkhala, this year's sixth typhoon, had strengthened to a severe tropical storm and was centered over the sea some 390 km south of Xiamen, East China's Fujian province, packing winds of up to 28 meters per second, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) said in a statement.

The NMC forecast that Mekkhala would move northward at a speed of 25 to 30 km per hour and is expected to land in coastal areas of the province's Zhangpu and Pingtan counties on Tuesday morning.

From Monday night to Tuesday night, the typhoon will bring gales to most parts of the East China Sea, northeastern and southern parts of the South China Sea, the waters of the Taiwan Straits and some coastal areas of Fujian and Zhejiang provinces.

During the same period, part regions in Fujian Province and Taiwan will experience downpours, with some areas seeing up to 160 mm of rainfall, the NMC said.

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

China's State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters activated Level IV emergency response Monday.

More efforts are required to closely monitor the development of Typhoon Mekkhala and timely relocate vessels and people in areas likely to be affected, according to the Ministry of Emergency Management.

The ministry also called for precautions against disasters such as floods, mudslides, landslides and urban waterlogging.