The 14th typhoon this year, Typhoon Rananim, will hit China's coastal province of Zhejiang Thursday night. It is the strongest typhoon to hit China so far this summer.

At 8 AM Thursday, the typhoon was reported 310 kilometers southeastward of Wenling with its center at 26.4 degrees north latitude and 123.7 degrees east longitude. The maximum wind reached force 12 near the center and is moving northwestwards at a speed of 20 kilometers per hour, according to the latest Central Meteorological Station forecast.

It will hit coastal Xiangshan and Pingyang counties and bring gales and torrential rains to the East China Sea, Taiwan Straits and provinces of Fujian, Jiangsu, Anhui, Jiangxi and Shanghai Municipality, said the forecast.

Rananim will be the strongest typhoon to hit China so far this year and could cause mud flows and landslides, said Gao Shuanzhu, chief forecaster in the station.

It might also cause storm tides along the coast since it is close to the spring tide period, said Gao.

According to meteorologists in Zhejiang, the typhoon might be more influential than the No. 17 typhoon in 1997, which killed 236and caused 19.8 billion yuan (US$2.4 billion) of economic losses.

The provincial government has urged the whole province to be on high alert and has evacuated nearly 300,000 people in the cities of Wenzhou, Taizhou and Zhoushan.

About 30 percent of the houses on the coast were built in the 1970s and 1980s and 5 percent were built before the 1970s, many of which are too weak to withstand strong storms. Moreover, most reservoirs in the province have been suffering from lack of water and some of them are being renovated, which will make them susceptible to strong rainstorms, according to the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters.

On the bright side, the typhoon will likely ease the drought and high temperatures in southern China which have been lingering for more than a month, said Gao.

(Xinhua News Agency August 12, 2004)