Doxuri, currently packing winds of 223 kmph, is expected to make landfall on the Chinese mainland on Friday.
China urged fishing boats to take shelter and farmers to speed up their harvests as Taiwan suspended annual military exercises as Typhoon Doxuri approached East Asia and threatened to reach deep into China.
Doksuri, also known as Super Typhoon, will be the strongest to hit China this year during the typhoon season.
Currently packing winds of 223 kilometers per hour (138 mph), Doxuri is expected to make landfall on the Chinese mainland somewhere between Fujian and Guangdong provinces on Friday, China’s National Meteorological Information Center said on Tuesday.
Although Doxuri is expected to lose some strength and land as a typhoon or super typhoon, it will pummel densely populated Chinese cities with torrential rains and strong winds.
Fujian ordered all offshore fishing boats to take shelter in a nearby port by Wednesday afternoon and told farmers to harvest rice and other ripe crops.
Worried about autumn grain crops, China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs warned on Monday that doksuri will move inland after landing, affecting even high-stemmed crops such as maize in rural areas.
‘Things will go faster’
About 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) in diameter, Doxuri is expected to cross the northernmost islands of the Philippines and hit Taiwan by mid-week with strong winds and heavy rain.
Philippine authorities have raised storm warning levels in the capital region and dozens of northern provinces, and have begun evacuating some coastal communities in the storm’s path.
Dozens of domestic flights were canceled, while sea travel was suspended in the affected areas, and more than 11,000 people were stranded at ports, the Coast Guard said.
Taiwan suspends drills
On Tuesday, Taiwan canceled some of its annual military exercises for security reasons as authorities ramped up preparations for what they say could be the most damaging typhoon to hit the island in nearly four years.
Taiwan’s weather bureau issued a sea and land warning for southern Pingtung County and asked communities to brace for heavy rain and strong winds.
In the southern port city of Kaohsiung, authorities scrambled to collect hundreds of containers floating at sea after the container ship Angel sank off Taiwan’s southwest coast last week.
Taiwan has not seen a typhoon make landfall in more than 1,400 days, which is why I urge all government ministries to be ready and make preparations,” Premier Chen Chien-jen said in a post on Facebook.
“I want to remind citizens not to underestimate typhoon threats.”
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