China raises emergency response to floods in Hainan as typhoon rages

BEIJING, Sept. 4 -- The State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters on Wednesday raised its emergency response for flood and typhoon prevention from level IV to level III in Hainan as Typhoon Yagi approaches land.

Typhoon Yagi, the 11th typhoon of the year as counted by China's meteorological authorities, is expected to make landfall along the coastal areas from Wanning in Hainan to Dianbai in Guangdong on Friday.

China's National Meteorological Center launched a red alert for Typhoon Yagi, saying that it grew into a strong typhoon on Wednesday afternoon.

The center warned that gales will batter the Taiwan Strait, parts of the South China Sea, the Bashi Channel, the central and south coastal areas of Fujian, as well as the central and eastern coastal areas of Guangdong from Wednesday night to Thursday night.

In the meantime, heavy rainfall is expected to hit parts of Taiwan Island, Guangdong and Hainan Island, according to the center.

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