BEIJING • China's National Meteorological Centre yesterday renewed the yellow alert for Typhoon Mawar, which was expected to hit southern Guangdong province.

As at 5am yesterday, the eye of Mawar was above the South China Sea some 135km south-east of Guangdong, packing winds of up to 25m per second, the national observatory said. Mawar is the 16th typhoon to hit China this year.

China has a four-tier colour-coded system for severe weather, with red being the most serious, followed by orange, yellow and blue.

The Chinese authorities on Saturday activated a national disaster alert and response mechanism for Mawar to help local departments prepare for relief work.

Civil affairs departments in southern provinces including Fujian and Guangdong should remain on duty around the clock, according to a notice issued by the China National Commission for Disaster Reduction, in coordination with the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

The notice asked the local authorities to publicise forecasts regarding Mawar and its predicted routes to enable residents to move to safe places and ships to return to harbour.

Local departments should inform residents to stockpile enough daily necessities for one to three days, it said, adding that relief materials and funds should also be prepared to guarantee the basic requirements of disaster-hit residents.

XINHUA