China issues an alert for strong typhoon Tokage

Beijing: China's national observatory on Sunday, issued a yellow alert for typhoon Tokage which was expected to bring gales to some southern coastal regions.

Tokage, this year's 25th typhoon, was centred on the central part of South China Sea at 5 AM and is moving northward at a speed of five to 10 km per hour, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) said in a statement.

The typhoon will turn southwest from Monday with force gradually dwindling, the NMC said.

Affected by the typhoon and cold front, coastal areas of Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Hainan provinces and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region will be swept by strong winds, it said.

The NMC advised local authorities to take precautions against the typhoon and ships in affected regions to go back to ports, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

China has a four-tier colour-coded weather warning system, with red representing the most severe weather, followed by orange, yellow and blue.