CHINA’S disaster relief authority launched a level III emergency response, as Typhoon Lekima is expected to make landfall in the coastal areas of East China’s Zhejiang Province on Saturday, the Ministry of Emergency Management said Thursday.

The ministry called on related departments to intensify real-time monitoring of weather changes and issue alerts promptly to reduce damages and ensure people’s safety.

Typhoon Lekima, the ninth of the year, strengthened into a super typhoon Wednesday night and is expected to be downgraded when it lands in Zhejiang, according to the National Meteorological Center (NMC).

Zhejiang Province also raised the emergency response to Typhoon Lekima to Level III on Thursday.

The local meteorological department reported Thursday morning that at 8 a.m. the center of Typhoon Lekima was 850 km south by east of Xiangshan County with the maximum speed of 52 meters per second.

The typhoon is expected to move at 15 km per hour to enter the East China Sea Thursday night and possibly land in Zhejiang on Saturday.

(Xinhua)