Beijing, Sep 17 (IANS): China's meteorological authority issued a yellow alert for typhoon Malakas on Saturday, forecasting strong winds and heavy rain.
Malakas, the 16th typhoon in 2016, was observed 135 km off Taiwan's east coast at 10 a.m., bringing winds of up to 50 metres per second as it moved northwest, and it was expected to enter the East China Sea later in the day, the National Meteorological Centre said.
Heavy rain will sweep parts of Zhejiang and Fujian provinces as well as the central and north parts of Taiwan from Saturday to Sunday with up to 120 mm of rain expected, Xinhua news agency reported.
China has a four-tier colour-coded warning system for severe weather, with red the most serious, followed by orange, yellow and blue.