China issues orange alert for typhoon Hato

BEIJING - China's national weather observatory Tuesday issued an orange alert for the 13th typhoon this year, Hato.

At 10 a.m. Tuesday, the eye of Hato was above the South China Sea some 620 km to the southeast of Zhuhai, Guangdong, packing winds of up to 25 meters per second, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) said in a statement.

The NMC forecast it will move northwestward to make landfall in Guangdong on Wednesday and then move west while losing strength.

Affected by Hato, Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang and Taiwan will see torrential rain and gales in the coming days.

The NMC suggested local governments take precautions against possible geological disasters, and ships in affected areas should return to port.

In Guangdong's neighboring Fujian Province, more than 4,000 fish farmers and their families, retreated to the land 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 the sea off Fujian.

Around 90 bullet trains between Shenzhen and cities in Fujian and Jiangxi provinces have been canceled on Wednesday.

China has a four-tier color-coded system for severe weather, with red being the most serious, followed by orange, yellow and blue.