A tree blown down by wind is seen on the street in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, Aug. 1, 2019. China's national weather observatory on Thursday renewed a blue alert as Typhoon Wipha continues to bring gales to most of the South China Sea. As of 10 a.m. Thursday, the eye of Wipha was located in the northeastern coastal regions of the city of Wenchang, south China's Hainan Province, packing winds of up to 23 meters per second, said the National Meteorological Center (NMC). (Xinhua/Guo Cheng)
BEIJING, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- China's national weather observatory on Thursday renewed a blue alert as Typhoon Wipha continues to bring gales to most of the South China Sea.
As of 10 a.m. Thursday, the eye of Wipha was located in the northeastern coastal regions of the city of Wenchang, south China's Hainan Province, packing winds of up to 23 meters per second, said the National Meteorological Center (NMC).
Wipha, the seventh typhoon this year, is expected to make another landfall in Leizhou Peninsula of the southern province of Guangdong Thursday at noon, and to hit Guangxi and northern parts of Vietnam later on Friday, the NMC said.
Most of the South China Sea, coastal regions of Guangdong, Hainan island, and Guangxi, as well as Qiongzhou Strait Beibu Gulf will be hit by fierce gales from Thursday afternoon to Friday afternoon, according to the center.
During the same period, parts of Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan island are expecting downpours of up to 200 mm, the NMC said.
The NMC suggested local governments take precautions against disasters, and ships in affected areas return to port.
China has a four-tier color-coded system for severe weather, with red being the most serious, followed by orange, yellow and blue.
