Beijing, Sep 5 (IANS): The southern Chinese provinces of Hainan and Guangdong have recalled fishing boats amid a spate of measures to gear up for the approaching Typhoon Yagi.

Hainan will suspend work and schools from Thursday, when it is expected to issue the highest-level emergency response to Typhoon Yagi, the provincial emergency management department said on Wednesday.

As of Friday, local transport and shipping services in Hainan will also be suspended, and markets and scenic spots will be temporarily closed as Typhoon Yagi is forecast to make landfall along coastal areas from Qionghai in Hainan to Dianbai in Guangdong Province on Friday, Xinhua news agency reported.

Typhoon Yagi, the 11th typhoon of the year, as counted by China's meteorological authorities, developed into a strong typhoon on Wednesday afternoon, according to the National Meteorological Centre.

Packing winds of up to 172.8 km per hour, its centre was about 660 km east of the city of Wenchang, Hainan, at 5 p.m. on Wednesday. The typhoon is moving northwest at a speed of about 10 km per hour and is still strengthening.

Typhoon Yagi could be the strongest typhoon to hit Hainan in the past 10 years, according to the Hainan Meteorological Service.

A total of 34,707 fishing boats in Hainan have returned to ports or other places to seek shelter from the typhoon, and 69,970 fishermen have been evacuated to land. All workers on fishing farms have also been evacuated.

Passenger shipping through the Qiongzhou Strait will be suspended from Wednesday midnight to Sunday.

Guangdong province on Wednesday raised its emergency response to Typhoon Yagi to the second-highest level as the typhoon is set to bring heavy rain and high waves.

As of Wednesday noon, a total of 84,873 fishing boats in Guangdong had returned to ports to take shelter, and 10,221 fishing farm workers had also been evacuated, according to the provincial emergency management department.

Local water resources authorities have sent 61 rescue teams with 1,916 rescue workers to regions prone to typhoon-triggered disasters, with sufficient disaster relief materials in warehouses ready to be dispatched.

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 Centre launched a red alert for Typhoon Yagi, saying that it grew into a strong typhoon on Wednesday noon.

The centre 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 centre.

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