China renews orange alert for Typhoon Talim

BEIJING -- China's national observatory on Monday renewed an orange alert for Typhoon Talim, as the fourth typhoon of this year is expected to bring gales and torrential rain to the country's southern coastal regions.

The typhoon, observed over the South China Sea about 375 km southeast of the city of Zhanjiang in southern China's Guangdong province at 5 am Monday, will move west by north at a speed of around 20 km per hour with increased intensity, the National Meteorological Center said in a statement.

It will make landfall in coastal areas between Guangdong province and Hainan province in South China Monday night, the center said.

From Monday morning to Tuesday morning, heavy downpours are forecast to lash parts of Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan and Fujian, while gales are expected in coastal areas of Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan, and most of the South China Sea, according to the center.

The meteorological center has issued an advisory to suspend 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.