DHAKA: Authorities in south-eastern China issued their highest weather alert and evacuated more than 400,000 people as typhoon Fitow approached on Sunday with wind speeds of up to 150 kilometres per hour at its centre.

The eastern province of Zhejiang evacuated some 289,000 from ships or vulnerable coastal areas, while some 128,000 were moved in neighbouring Fujian province.

China local governments said, reports The Voice of Russia.

Meteorologists expected the typhoon to hit land in China near the Fujian provincial capital of Fuzhou early Monday after skirting Taiwan, the semi-official China News Service said.

Torrential rain and gales were forecast to hit Zhejiang, Fujian and neighbouring provinces as the typhoon moves inland over the next three days.

Storm tides about 2 metres higher than normal were expected along the coast, while waves up to 10 metres high were forecast offshore in the East China Sea, the official Xinhua news agency said.

All shipping services and many air, rail and bus services were suspended in Zhejiang, Fujian and nearby Jiangxi province on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the death toll from Typhoon Wuti rose to 10, with 52 sailors still missing, after three fishing boats sank off southern China last week.

BDST: 1900 HRS, OCT 06, 2013
RoR/RK