Fishermen take protective measures before the tropical storm Meari arrives in Zhoushan, east China's Zhejiang Province, June 24, 2011. Fishermen in east China's Zhoushan have been taking precaution against Meari, a tropical storm which is about to hit the region Saturday afternoon. Surrounded by the East China Sea, Zhoushan is a major fishery center in China. [Xinhua/Hu Sheyou]

Five provinces along China's eastern coast have been alerted as tropical storm Meari, which is expected to be upgraded to a typhoon, is approaching from the south, according to a statement issued Friday by the National Commission for Disaster Reduction (NCDR) and the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

Formed two days ago over an area of ocean located east of the Philippines, the northward-moving Meari is forecasted to be the first typhoon to hit China's coastal regions this year, the statement said.

It is predicted that the tropical storm will sweep the northeast part of the South China Sea, the Taiwan Strait, the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea over the next three days, the statement added.

The statement urged local civil affairs agencies in Shanghai and the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian and Shandong to closely monitor the tropical storm and issue early warnings to the public in a timely manner.

Three government-owned storage bases for disaster relief supplies in the cities of Fuzhou, Hefei and Wuhan have been asked to prepare for a response to any disaster that might result from the storm.

The China Meteorological Administration (CMA) on Friday night issued a disaster control alert for Meari, which is expected to bring high winds and rainstorms to China's coastal regions over the next two days.

According to the CMA, as of 5 p.m. Friday, Meari was located 410 km southeast off the coast of Hualien County in Taiwan, packing winds of up to 90 km per hour.

Meari is still strengthening and moving northwest at a speed of 25 to 30 km per hour, it said.

The storm will generate 6 to 8-meter-high waves in the center of the East China Sea and 4 to 6-meter-high waves in the Taiwan Strait and areas near eastern Taiwan, according to the statement.

Meanwhile, the coastal regions of Zhejiang and northern Fujian are predicted to see waves of 3 to 4.4 meters, while Shanghai and southern Fujian will see waves of 2 to 3 meters.

Local meteorological authorities in Zhejiang have predicted that Meari will enter the southeastern part of the East China Sea between Friday night and Saturday morning, packing winds of about 33 meters per second.