The tropical storm Damrey, number 18 of this year, is very
likely to land in south China from Saturday night to Sunday
morning, said the Hainan Provincial Meteorological Observatory
Friday.
As of 4:00 PM Friday, the center of the tropical storm was
located on the sea about 720 kilometers east of Haikou,
capital?of Hainan?Province,
or 20.3 north latitude and 117.1 east longitude.
The storm is moving westward at a speed of 10 to 15 km per hour
and will land on the areas between Hainan's Lingshui and Guangdong's
Dianbai.
Influenced by Damrey, the sea near Hainan saw strong winds
measuring 11 on the Beaufort Scale in the maximum.
As of noon Friday, 121,000 people in Fujian
had been evacuated to safe areas and 7,091 boats had returned to
harbor.
The observatory said the storm will bring great precipitation to
Hainan, urging the flood control department to make preparations
against possible disasters.
(Xinhua News Agency September 24, 2005)