This satellite image taken by Himawari-8, a Japanese weather satellite, and provided by National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, shows Typhoon Doksuri on July 26, 2023. (PHOTO / NICT VIA AP)

BEIJING - China's national observatory on Wednesday morning issued a red alert for Typhoon Doksuri, the most severe warning in its four-tier warning system, as the fifth typhoon of this year is expected to bring gales and heavy rain to the eastern and southern parts of the country.

Typhoon Doksuri will most likely make landfall in the coastal areas of Jinjiang city in east China's Fujian province and the bordering areas of Fujian province and Guangdong province, said the National Meteorological Center 

The typhoon, observed over the ocean about 350 km south of Taiwan at 8 am Wednesday, is expected to move northwest at a speed of 10 to 15 km per hour, the National Meteorological Center said in a statement.

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It will enter the northeastern part of the South China Sea between Wednesday evening and Thursday morning and then move to the coastal areas of Fujian and Guangdong, the center said.

The severe typhoon will most likely make landfall in the coastal areas of Jinjiang city in east China's Fujian province and the bordering areas of Fujian province and Guangdong province, the center said.

Some coastal areas around the Bashi Channel, the South China Sea, the Taiwan Strait, as well as coastal regions of Taiwan and Fujian, will experience gales from 2 pm Wednesday to 2 pm Thursday. The maximum wind force in some of the aforementioned regions will reach 20.8 to 36.9 meters per second, according to the center.

During this period, parts of east China's Zhejiang Province will experience downpours of 100 to 150 mm and parts of Taiwan will experience heavy downpours of 250 to 400 mm, the center said.

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The meteorological center has issued an advisory suspending 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.

Travelers wait for departure from the Shenzhen North Railway Station in Guangdong province on July 26, 2023. (PHOTO  PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Emergency response up

Guangdong province has upgraded its typhoon emergency response to Level III, the third-highest level, as Typhoon Doksuri moves closer.

The provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters raised the response level at 5 p.m. Tuesday.

It is anticipated to be the strongest typhoon to impact eastern Guangdong in nearly a decade, the Guangdong provincial meteorological authorities said.

Guangdong is expecting Doksuri to bring torrential downpours and strong winds in some areas. Local authorities issued early warning information to the public, warning ships and workers operating in nearby seas to return to ports in time to take shelter.

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On Wednesday, east China's Zhejiang province activated a Level-IV emergency response for the typhoon. So far, all 1,588 people involved in mariculture in Zhejiang have gone ashore, and all 15,603 fishing vessels have sought shelter in ports.

Train routes to be suspended

Dozens of trains traveling within Guangdong province and between Guangdong and Zhejiang province will be suspended in the following two days, as Typhoon Doksuri is expected to make landfall in the coastal areas between Fujian province and Guangdong on Friday morning, according to railway operators.

On Thursday, up to 163 trains will be suspended. This includes lines from Shenzhen, Guangdong to Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang, and from Meizhou to Shantou, both in eastern Guangdong, according to the China Railway Guangzhou Group.

Also on Thursday, four trains from Beijing to Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong and five more trains along Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong will be suspended.

Continuing on Friday, up to 40 trains from Hangzhou to Shenzhen and from Meizhou to Shantou will be suspended, the railway operators said.