Powerful typhoon Muifa was likely to make landfall over east China's Zhejiang Province on Saturday night or in the daytime of Sunday, local meteorological authorities said Friday.

Fishing boats are anchored in the harbor to shelter from Typhoon Muifa in Taizhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Aug. 4, 2011. [Xinhua]?

Muifa, the ninth typhoon to hit China this year, was located about 745 km southeast of Zhejiang's Zhoushan City at 11 a.m. Friday, according to the latest report from the Zhejiang Provincial Meteorological Station.

Packing winds of up to 162 km per hour near its center, Muifa was heading northwest at a speed of 10 km to 15 km per hour, the report said.

It would bring strong winds and torrential rains to parts of Zhejiang, it said.

On Wednesday night, Muifa abated from a super typhoon to a strong typhoon, but it is still expected to be one of the most powerful typhoons to hit China in recent years.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs issued a circular Thursday ordering civil affairs agencies in the city of Shanghai and the provinces of Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Anhui, Fujian, Jiangxi and Shandong to monitor the situation closely and carry out disaster relief operations in a timely manner.

Government-run storage bases for relief materials in the cities of Hefei, Fuzhou, Wuhan and Changsha were also advised to prepare for the possible dispersal of their materials.

The ministry, along with the National Commission for Disaster Reduction, sent a work team to Zhejiang Thursday to direct preparatory work for the typhoon.

In Ningbo and Taizhou cities of Zhejiang, more than 4,000 vessels have been called back to harbor, and the Zhejiang Provincial Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters has ordered local authorities in seaside areas likely to be affected by the typhoon to prepare for a possible evacuation of their residents.

In Fujian, flood control authorities have called more than 5,000 fishing vessels back to the city's harbor.

Shanghai railway authorities have established an inspection team to examine high-speed railway facilities, stating that some train services may run behind schedule or even be halted depending on the storm's severity.

Muifa will start to move over the East China Sea on Friday evening, according to a statement from China's National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center.

The forecasting center is continuing its orange alert for sea waves, the second-highest alert in the four-level high wave warning system, warning that from Friday noon to Saturday noon, the East China Sea will see waves of 9 to 12 meters high and waters off Shanghai and Zhejiang will see waves of 3 to 4.5 meters high.

Waters off Jiangsu and Fujian Province will also see waves of 2.5 to 3.5 meters high, the statement said.

The center on Friday morning also issued a yellow alert, the second lowest alert, for storm surges caused by the typhoon.

From Friday morning to Saturday morning, coastal areas along the Yangtze River's mouth to Fujian are expected to see their water levels increase by 50 to 120 cm.

On early Saturday, some areas in Fujian will see their water levels slightly above the warning level, according to the statement.