Chinese authorities on Thursday urged local departments to make preparations for the approaching tropical storm Doksuri.

Dark clouds have hit Zhongshan, Guangdong Province on Thursday morning?before the tropical storm coming. [nfdaily.cn]

The State Disaster Relief Commission (SDRC) urged local civil affairs departments in coastal provinces of Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan to quickly issue early-warning information, and help the evacuation of workers at sea and the return of fishing boats to ports.

It also called on relevant local departments to open shelters in advance and appropriately evacuate and relocate people affected by the tropical storm, as well as ensure staff, materials and assets were ready for disaster relief.

The SDRC urged local departments to report in time the situation of the storm and the work of disaster relief.

The meteorological department has forecast that tropical storm Doksuri, which was upgraded to severe tropical storm on Thursday morning, will make landfall over the coastal areas in south China's Guangdong province, and also most probably hit the central part of the province, from Friday night to Saturday morning, with a wind scale of 9 to 10 at the storm's center, and a wind speed of 23 to 25 meters per second.

Influenced by the storm, the coastal areas of south China and the central and northern part of South China Sea will witness strong winds of level 6 to 8, while the wind scale of the nearby areas of the storm center will reach 9 to 10.

From Friday to Saturday, the southern and central part of Guangdong, southeastern part of Guangxi, and some areas of Taiwan and Hainan will see heavy or torrential rain.