China to issue red alert for Typhoon Soulik

BEIJING - China will issue a red-level wave warning for Typhoon Soulik, the strongest ever this year, which is expected to affect the East China Sea, the marine forecasting authority said Wednesday.

As the seventh typhoon to hit China this year, Soulik will have a big impact on the East China Sea and Taiwan Strait, as well as waters off the coastal provinces of Zhejiang and Fujian laying along the East China Sea from Thursday to Sunday, according to the the National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center.

The red alert is the highest in the country's four-tier color-coded weather warning system.

Soulik is expected to made landfall in an area between southern Zhejiang and northern Fujian. The center will start issuing wave warnings from Thursday, it said.

It is estimated that seven to nine typhoons will land along China's coastal areas this year, according to a statement issued by the center in May.

Though the figures are similar to those of last year, typhoons are becoming more destructive due to climate change, according to Zhang Zhihua, an official with the center.

The possibility of an increase in violent typhoons can not be ruled out, Zhang said.