Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has ordered relevant government departments to strengthen safety inspections and put public safety "first and foremost" when facing Typhoon Krosa.

Krosa, which formed on October 2 and escalated to a powerful typhoon on October 5, finally made landfall in east China on Sunday afternoon. It had a "strange route" and widespread impact, according to a government release.

It continued to move northward at a speed of 20 km per hour after making landfall, but its force gradually weakened, the Fujian Provincial Meteorological Observatory said.

Vice Premier Hui Liangyu asked locals to "stand to their posts" and enhance coordination to "closely monitor the development of the typhoon and rainstorms".

Krosa is expected to trigger gale force winds, torrential rains and even landslides in some areas of Zhejiang and Fujian, the observatory said.

"Local departments should continue to evacuate people in danger and order organized boats back to the harbor to shelter from the wind," Hui told an emergency meeting on Sunday morning.

Hui also said the safety of reservoirs and flood control projects should be ensured to prevent landslides.

Krosa, the 16th typhoon this year, packing winds of up to 126 km per hour, had forced the evacuation of more than 1.41 million people and 75,000 fishing vessels in the two coastal provinces by midday on Sunday.

It left four dead, two missing and 52 injured in Taiwan, in addition to cutting off power supplies and halting highway and air traffic, local media reported.

(Xinhua News Agency October 8, 2007)