Zhanjiang government authorities issued an orange weather alert on Oct 17 in advance of Typhoon Sarika, which is due to make landfall in South China's Guangdong province in the coming days.

Officials urged residents to take "comprehensive" precautions and remain vigilant as they upgraded the typhoon warning from yellow to orange, one level short of the country's most serious weather warning.

As of 11 pm on Oct 17, Srika, the 21st typhoon this year, was 400 kilometers away from Zhanjiang moving northwest at a speed of 15 kilometers per hour.

The typhoon recorded wind speeds of up to force nine in the city's coastal areas, with land winds ranging from force nine to 11 in the Leizhou Peninsula. The class-II emergency response in meteorological disaster was initiated.

Zhanjiang Mayor Wang Zhongbing and Party Secretary Wei Hongguang guided precautionary work from the municipal command center for disaster prevention.

Wei stressed that the typhoon would affect larger areas and required more precise and timely guides for public protection.

Wang added that ships should berth at ports and that residents living in low-lying areas should be transferred to safe places. He underlined that the government should try every effort to reduce the loss of life and damage to property.

Zhanjiang government plans precautionary measures for Typhoon Sarika at a meeting on Oct 17. [Photo by Lang Shuchen/Zhanjiang.gov.cn]