Typhoon Muifa: China evacuates 206,000, issues red alert

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The country issued a red alert, the highest in its four-level high wave warning system for sea waves, on Saturday as the powerful phenomenon swept across the the East China Sea.

The East China Sea covers an area of 1,249,000 km.

According to China's National Marine Environmental Forecasting Centre, sea waves piled up as Muifa approached. Waves of 10.5 metres high have been observed in the East China Sea, Xinhua reported.

The East China Sea will see waves of 9 to 11 metres high from Saturday noon to Sunday noon. Waters off Shanghai and Zhejiang will see waves of 5 to 7 metres high, and waters off Jiangsu and southern Zhejiang province will also see waves of 3 to 5 metres high.

Muifa, the ninth typhoon to hit China this year, made landfall in the East China Sea around 10 p.m. Friday, the statement said.

Muifa is also likely to continue its force or abate a little bit while sweeping along the eastern coastal area.

Over 206,000 people in the coastal areas of east China have been evacuated as the region braces for Typhoon Muifa.

Packing winds of up to 162 km per hour near its centre, Muifa is heading northwest at a speed of 10 km to 15 km per hour, officials said.

The typhoon is expected to last for 11 days before it finally wanes.

The ministry of civil affairs has issued a circular ordering many provinces to monitor the situation closely and carry out disaster relief operations in a timely manner.

Government-run storage bases for relief materials were advised to prepare for the possible dispersal of their materials.

More than 4,000 ships have been called back to harbour in Zhejiang's Ningbo and Taizhou cities. In Fujian province, flood control authorities called back more than 5,000 fishing vessels to the city's harbour.