China issues alert for typhoon Hagibis

BEIJING - China's top meteorological authority issued a blue alert on Saturday as typhoon Hagibis is expected to make a landfall in Guangdong and Fujian provinces starting on Sunday.

Hagibis will also become the first typhoon to make a landfall in China this year, according to a forecast from the National Meteorological Center (NMC).

Starting from 8 pm local time Saturday, torrential rains and storms are forecast to hit the eastern areas of Guangdong Province, the southern Fujian province as well as southern Taiwan during the next 24 hours.

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