Three thousand armed police have been stationed in southeastern province of Fujian, ready to launch rescue and relief operations when Typhoon Kaemi hits.

About 130 vans and 80 speed boats were provided for rescue teams, officials with the provincial headquarters of armed police said, and they had gathered more than 3,500 life vests and 2,000 life buoys.

Rescue teams had undergone extensive training, focusing on how to carry out rescue work in the dark.

The police were equipped with signal generators and waterproof lights to ensure the safety of night operations.

The armed police said they had carefully studied the possible routes of Kaemi and removed a number of obstacles that might pose risks.

At 3:00 PM Monday, Typhoon Kaemi was located 260 kilometers southeast of Taiwan's Hualien, said the provincial meteorological station. The fifth typhoon to hit China this year, Kaemi, is packing winds of 144 kilometers per hour.

The eye of the typhoon is moving northwest at about 15 kilometers per hour and is expected to hit the east coast of Taiwan late Monday night or in the early hours of Tuesday, the station said.

It will land on the coast of Fujian Tuesday night or Wednesday morning, bringing strong winds and rainstorms.

In the eastern provinces of Fujian and Zhejiang, about 7,000 people from fishing families on coastal stilt houses, mostly the elderly and children, were ordered to return to the shore on Monday.

About 30,000 others will be brought back to shore earlier on Tuesday.

(Xinhua News Agency July 25, 2006)