China on yellow alert for Typhoon Malakas

BEIJING - China's meteorological authority issued a yellow alert for Typhoon Malakas on Saturday, forecasting strong winds and heavy rain.

Malakas, the 16th typhoon in 2016, was observed 135 kilometers off Taiwan's east coast at 10 am Saturday, bringing winds of up to 50 meters per second as it moved northwest, and it is expected to enter the East China Sea Saturday afternoon, the National Meteorological Center said.

Heavy rain will sweep parts of Zhejiang and Fujian provinces on the Chinese mainland as well as the central and north parts of Taiwan from Saturday to Sunday with up to 120 millimeters of rain expected, the center said.

Typhoon Malakas came hot on the heels of Typhoon Meranti, which has left at least 14 people dead and another 14 missing in southeast regions of China since it landed in Fujian Thursday morning.

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