Third-highest alert issued for typhoon in South China

China's top meteorological center renewed a yellow alert for typhoon on Monday, the third highest in the four-tier warning system, expecting the fourth typhoon of the year in the northwest Pacific Ocean to bring heavy rainfall and strong winds in South China.

Typhoon Prapiroon made landfall in the coastal areas of Wanning, Hainan province, at around 1:30 am on Monday with a strong tropical storm with maximum winds of up to Level 10 on the Beaufort scale at 28 meters per second near its center, the National Meteorological Center said.

At around 10 am on Monday, Typhoon Prapiroon traveled out of Hainan to enter the eastern waters of the Beibu Gulf in northwestern South China Sea, with its center located at 19.7 degrees north latitude and 109 degrees east longitude. It packed winds of up to Level 9 at 23 meters per second near its center, and the minimum central pressure was 990 hectopascal, the center said.

The center of the typhoon is expected to move north-northwestward at a speed of about 10 kilometers per hour, with the intensity continuing to strengthen. It is expected to make landfall along the coastal areas from the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region to northern Vietnam on Tuesday morning to noon.

From Monday afternoon to Tuesday afternoon, areas in waters off the South China Sea and the Nansha Islands, as well as the coastal areas of Guangxi, the Hainan Island, the Qiongzhou Strait, the Beibu Gulf and the Leizhou Peninsula, will experience strong winds of Level 6 to 8, with gusts even reaching Level 12, the center said

During this period, areas of the western Hainan Island, northern Guangxi and the western coastal areas of the Leizhou Peninsula are expected to experience heavy rainfall, with accumulated precipitation ranging from 100 to 180 millimeters in Guangxi.

In addition, Gaemi, the third typhoon of the year, is expected to arrive in Taiwan early Thursday morning and then make landfall in northern Fujian and southern Zhejiang from Thursday night to Friday morning, with maximum winds reaching 50 meters per second near its center.

The Fujian Meteorological Center issued a Level IV emergency response for typhoon on Sunday.