BEIJING - China's national observatory on Thursday issued a yellow alert for the approaching Typhoon Soudelor, which will bring gales and heavy rain to the country's coast in the coming days.

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

The center of Soudelor, this year's 13th typhoon, was located at around 920 kilometers southeast to Hualien of Taiwan at 11 a.m. (Beijing time) Thursday, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) said in a statement.

The NMC forecast that Soudelor will move northwestward at a speed of 20 to 25 km per hour with strengthening force and land on the eastern coast of Taiwan between Friday night and Saturday morning.

After crossing Taiwan, the strong typhoon will continue to move northwestward and hit the coast of Fujian Province, the center said.

From Thursday to Friday, Soudelor will bring gales and storms to some parts of Taiwan and waters nearby. The wind and rain will also take away the heat in some southern parts of China starting Friday, the NMC said.

Local governments should take precautions against possible disasters brought about by the typhoon, it said.