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Tropical storm Meranti to bring rains, strong winds to S China

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-09-10 11:04

BEIJING - Tropical storm Meranti will bring torrential rains to southern parts of China from Thursday evening and over 6,000 people have been relocated for fear of rain-triggered accidents.

Torrential rains will pound parts of Fujian, Guangdong, Taiwan, Guangxi and Hainan in the 24 hours to 8 am Friday, the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) said in a statement Thursday morning.

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A total of 6,299 people have been relocated to safe areas in east China's Fujian Province, said provincial flood control officials.

Also, the Xiamen-Jinmen shipping line, linking the mainland and Taiwan, suspended its service at 6 pm. All the beaches in Xiamen City of Fujian were also closed at 6 pm, according to municipal flood control officials.

The storm was located 450 kilometers off the coast of Xiamen, in the northeastern part of the South China Sea at 5 am Thursday. Further, the storm was packing wind gusts of 90 kilometers per hour near its center at 4 pm, according to officials.

The storm is expected to make landfall on the southern coastal regions sometime between Thursday evening and noon Friday.

The CMA statement urged ships to be recalled to port and ordered the reinforcement or removal of structures vulnerable to strong winds.

The statement also warned local authorities to prepare for possible flooding.