FUZHOU/GUIYANG, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- China's State Oceanic Administration (SOA) has issued a red alert for ocean waves in sea areas off the coast of southern Guangdong Province as Typhoon Hato approaches, with more than 4,000 people already evacuated.
Hato, the 13th typhoon to hit China this year, is likely to make landfall on the coast of Guangdong on Wednesday morning. The typhoon has been moving westward at a speed of 20 kph since Tuesday morning, according to local meteorological authorities.
The SOA also issued an orange alert for storm tides and estimated that the sea levels off Guangdong and neighboring Fujian Province will rise by up to 180 centimeters.
In China's four-tier severe weather warning system, red is the most serious alert, followed by orange, yellow and blue.
In Fujian, more than 4,000 fish farmers and their families returned to shore on Monday and all fishing boats returned to harbor Tuesday.
The typhoon is expected to bring rain and gales with a maximum speed of around 40 meters per second to seas off the coast of Fujian.
Around 90 high-speed trains between Shenzhen and cities in Fujian and Jiangxi provinces have been canceled for Wednesday.
On Tuesday, southwestern province of Guizhou has also started disaster alert measures ahead of the typhoon's arrival.
From Tuesday to Friday, Guizhou will see rainstorms in its western and southern areas. Some regions are expected to receive over 300 millimeters of precipitation.
The provincial disaster relief office has ordered local authorities to take precautions against possible natural disasters to minimize losses.
Civil affairs departments in several southern provinces were asked to remain on duty around the clock, according to an urgent notice issued by China National Commission for Disaster Reduction, in coordination with the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
The notice asked local authorities publicize forecasts regarding Hato and its predicted routes to enable residents to move to safe places and ships to return to harbor.
The departments should inform residents in typhoon-affected areas to stockpile enough daily necessities for one to three days, said the notice, adding that relief materials and funds should also be prepared to guarantee the basic requirements of disaster-hit residents.
