The tropical storm Damrey, number 18 of this year, is very likely to land in south China from Saturday night to Sunday morning, said the Hainan Provincial Meteorological Observatory Friday.

As of 4:00 PM Friday, the center of the tropical storm was located on the sea about 720 kilometers east of Haikou, capital of Hainan Province, or 20.3 north latitude and 117.1 east longitude.

The storm is moving westward at a speed of 10 to 15 km per hour and will land on the areas between Hainan's Lingshui and Guangdong's Dianbai.

Influenced by Damrey, the sea near Hainan saw strong winds measuring 11 on the Beaufort Scale in the maximum.

As of noon Friday, 121,000 people in Fujian had been evacuated to safe areas and 7,091 boats had returned to harbor.

The observatory said the storm will bring great precipitation to Hainan, urging the flood control department to make preparations against possible disasters.

(Xinhua News Agency September 24, 2005)