The meteorological station of Zhejiang Province warned on Friday that typhoon Nari could affect the east China province of Zhejiang in the evening, bringing strong winds and heavy rain.

Nari, which formed at 2:00 PM on Wednesday southeast of Japan's Okinawa island, developed into a typhoon at 8:00 AM on Thursday and is expected to sweep over the southeastern part of the East China Sea, influencing the coastal area of Zhejiang.

As of 8:00 AM on Friday, the center of Nari, 24.4 degrees north latitude and 129.4 degrees east longitude, was located at about 950 kilometers southeast of Zhejiang's coastline, the meteorological station said.

Packing winds of 118.8 kilometers per hour, Nari is moving northwest at a speed of 15 to 20 km per hour, it said.

Nari will gain strength and continue moving northwest towards the province, bringing strong winds measuring force 10 to 12 (97 to 126 km per hour).

As much as 100 mm of rainfall is forecast to hit the area from Saturday to Sunday.

The Zhejiang meteorological station has told ships to return to harbor early.

(Xinhua News Agency September 15, 2007)