Typhoon Bavi to bring gales to China

BEIJING -- China's national observatory on Monday renewed a yellow alert for Typhoon Bavi, which is expected to bring gales to south and southeast China.

The typhoon, the eighth of the year, strengthened from a tropical storm early Monday morning and was observed at waters 680 km south of Jeju island, the Republic of Korea, at 5 am, with a maximum wind force of 118.8 km per hour at the center, the National Meteorological Center said.

The center expects the typhoon to head northeastward at a speed of 10 km per hour as it strengthens, and will move close to East China's Shandong Peninsular later this week.

From Monday morning to Tuesday morning, gales are forecast to lash some coastal areas of provinces and regions including Taiwan, the Diaoyu Islands and Zhejiang.

The center advises people and vessels in disaster-prone areas to take shelter from winds.

China has a four-tier color-coded weather warning system, with red representing the most severe weather, followed by orange, yellow and blue.