Tropical Storm Prapiroon, packing winds of 90 kilometers per
hour, is moving across the South China Sea towards south China's Hainan island, where it is forecast to hit on
Wednesday.
A tropical depression grew into Tropical Storm Prapiroon, the
region's sixth major storm of the year, at 2 PM on Tuesday and
became a stronger tropical storm at 8:00 PM, the Hainan meteorology
bureau said.
It has already lashed the northern Philippines, killing five
people.
The storm was moving at 15 kilometers per hour and would affect
Hainan from Thursday to Saturday, bringing heavy rains and strong
winds to the province, warned the bureau.
Prapiroon is the Thai word for rain god.
(Xinhua News Agency August 2, 2006)