East and south China provinces are on high alert for the approaching Super Typhoon Soudelor, which has developed into the world's most powerful storm of the year after slashing the Northern Marianas.
China's national observatory says the storm, the 13th typhoon of 2015, is expected to make landfall in Fujian and neighboring Zhejiang late on Saturday, after battering Japan and Taiwan.
Heavy rain and wind will affect both coastal and inland regions stretching from Guangdong Province in south China, to Zhejiang Province in east China, in the coming days, according to the National Meteorological Center.
The State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters has urged local authorities to take precautions.
Soudelor, now a maximum category five storm, is roaring across the western Pacific Ocean packing winds up to 350 kph, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center.
It left a trail of destruction across the Northern Marianas on Sunday, though no deaths have been reported.
The typhoon is stronger than Cyclone Pam, the previous strongest storm of the year, which killed at least 15 people when it slammed into Vanuatu five months ago.
