China continues orange alert as Typhoon Khanun approaches

BEIJING - China's national weather observatory on Sunday continued an orange alert for Typhoon Khanun, which is approaching the country's southern coast bringing rough gales and heavy storms.

At 5 am Sunday, the eye of Khanun, this year's 20th typhoon, was above the South China Sea, 570 km southeast of Xuwen County, south China's Guangdong Province, packing winds of up to 38 meters per second, according to the National Meteorological Center (NMC).

The NMC said the typhoon is likely to hit the coast between Zhanjiang, Guangdong and Wenchang, Hainan province in the early hours of Monday with winds of up to 40 meters per second.

It is expected to later weaken and turn southwest toward central Vietnam, according to the NMC.

The observatory also issued a yellow alert for storms Sunday morning as Typhoon Khanun is bringing heavy rainfall and strong gales along its path.

From Sunday to Monday morning, parts of Zhejiang, Shanghai, Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan will experience heavy rain, the NMC said. In some areas, precipitation is expected to be up to 200 millimeters.

The NMC suggested local governments take precautions against possible 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.