Fujian province’s flood control office started class-four emergency response at 8 am to prepare for Typhoon Hato which is projected to make landfall in Guangdong province and southern Fujian on Wednesday, Aug 23.

The 13th recorded typhoon of the year, Hato formed in the northwest Pacific, southeast of Taiwan, on Sunday.

The National Meteorological Center of China forecast at 10:17 am that Hato will travel west by north at 15 kilometers per hour, gathering strength along the way. The wind speed at the center of the typhoon could reach 25 to 33 meters per second.

Under the influence of Hato, Fujian’s coastal areas will see winds of gale force 7 to 8 from Monday to Tuesday.

Hato formed near the coast and is gathering strength as it travels fast toward the shore, said Fujian’s flood control office at a meeting held late Sunday.

The office decided at the meeting that Zhangzhou should evacuate all personnel from offshore fishing rafts, and that Fuzhou, Pingtan, Putian, Quanzhou and Xiamen should evacuate non-workers from offshore fishing rafts before 6 pm Monday.

Before 8 am on Tuesday, all fishing ships that operate offshore and in the Taiwan Strait should take shelter at the nearest dock. All tourism areas and construction sites on the coast south of Fuzhou will be closed starting from Tuesday.