As New Orleans reels from the impact of Hurricane Katrina, China's coastal provinces of Zhejiang and Fujian are bracing themselves for the arrival of Typhoon Talim.

Talim, the 13th this year, "is probably the strongest typhoon China will experience this summer in terms of the force of wind," warned Zhang Ling, a senior expert with the National Meteorological Centre.

Forecasters urged local authorities to be fully prepared for the worst, saying the typhoon and ensuing flooding and landslides are likely to cause severe damage.

As of early evening, Talim was centred in the Pacific Ocean about 180 kilometres east of the Taiwanese port of Hualien, the island's Central Weather Bureau said.

The typhoon was moving northwest at a speed of 21 kilometres per hour, with winds of 184 kph, it said. Talim was expected to make landfall on the island's east coast around midnight.

Then, it will approach coastal areas such as Jinjiang in Fujian Province and Wenzhou in Zhejiang Province, making landfall today or early tomorrow.

It is expected to bring heavy rainstorms and strong winds.

Officials in those two provinces had already begun evacuating residents in the most vulnerable areas.

Zhejiang government officials urged hundreds of residents to stay away from coastal areas, as well as mountainous regions, rivers, ageing reservoirs and dilapidated houses, because of the risk of flash floods and mudslides.

Ships were called to harbour, and the water levels of local reservoirs were lowered as many of them have been soaked by recent storms, according to officials from Zhejiang Provincial Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.

Education authorities urged primary and high schools in the potentially typhoon-affected areas to postpone their enrolment dates until Monday.

Source: China Daily