Fishery departments should prepare to cope with tropical storm Kammuri and try to ensure fishermen's safety, said the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) on Wednesday.

The MOA told local fishery departments to closely monitor Kammuri, keep the public informed and help fishing vessels and their crew avoid risks.

The MOA said that the situation was tough, since most fishing vessels had resumed sailing after the off-season. Fishing is restricted from June to August to avoid depletion of resources. Government departments should prepare to provide disaster-relief service.

Kammuri, the ninth tropical storm of the year, on Wednesday hit south China's Guangdong Province from Yangxi on its coast at 7:45 p.m.

When it made landfall from Xitou Town, Yangxi County, it produced 10-force winds at the central area and moved inland at 90 km per hour, said the Guangdong Provincial Weather Observatory.

The storm appeared in the northeastern part of the South China Sea and intensified into strong tropical storm at 8 a.m. on Tuesday.

The storm was the third to hit China this season, after tropical storm Kalmaegi in early July and typhoon Fung-Wong last week.

The southern island province of Hainan was also affected by the storm. It had more than 100 millimeters of rain from midnight to 10 a.m. on Wednesday in 22 towns. The wet, windy weather was forecast to continue on Thursday.

The State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters launched a level-three disaster control emergency response on Tuesday.

(Xinhua News Agency August 7, 2008)