Typhoon Kujira: Meteorologists Raise Threat Level as Cyclone Moves towards Hainan

Jun 22, 2015 04:24 AM EDT

(Photo : Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) Heavy rain and clouds fill the Shanghai skyline in 2007 as Typhoon Wipha approached. Typhoon Kujira, the first tropical storm in China this year, is expected to affect several areas in southern China and the South China Sea over the net two days.

Chinese meteorologists have raised the threat level of Typhoon Kujira just hours before the tropical storm is expected to hit the southern parts of China.

China Central Television reported on Monday that a yellow-level alert had been issued for Typhoon Kujira, which is expected to be felt over the next two days. The yellow-level alert is the second least intense warning on the country's color-coded weather warning system. On Sunday, the National Meteorological Center had issued a blue alert - its least severe warning.

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According to Xinhua, the typhoon is expected to affect some islands in the South China Sea before moving on towards Hainan, Zhanjiang and Guangxi. Nonetheless, experts have predicted a low humanitarian impact for the storm, which has a wind speed of about 74 km/h.

Typhoon Kujira is the first storm that will hit China this year and it is expected to affect millions of people. Since April, parts of southern China have been battered by heavy rainfall and flooding; leading to loss of lives and damage to properties worth billions of yuan. At least 18 people were killed during heavy rains last week, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

Experts say the rains in Hainan will provide much needed relief for residents in parts of the area, who have been experiencing severe drought since last year.

Meanwhile, meteorologists have warned that rains in the affected areas may grow in intensity until Tuesday as Typhoon Kujira, which is reportedly moving at about 10 km/h, makes a landfall.

"The typhoon is most likely to land in the area between the Leizhou Peninsula and east or northeast Hainan, sometime between late Monday night to Tuesday morning," a senior forecaster with Hainan Meteorological Society told CRIEnglish.com.

Meteorologists have called on local authorities to make preparations to deal with flooding as a result of the rains and the typhoon. Also, ship operators have been advised not to attempt to travel near areas that will be affected by the storm.

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