HAIKOU/GUANGZHOU, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- As Typhoon Tapah, the 16th typhoon of the year, has formed, south China's island province of Hainan issued a Level IV typhoon warning at 8 a.m. Sunday morning.

At 7 a.m. on Sunday, the center of Typhoon Tapah was located over the South China Sea, approximately 445 kilometers southeast of Dianbai District in Maoming City, south China's Guangdong Province, packing maximum winds of 23 meters per second near its center, the Hainan provincial meteorological observatory said.

Typhoon Tapah is forecast to move northwestward at a speed of 10 to 15 kilometers per hour while gradually intensifying. It is expected to approach the coastal areas of central and western Guangdong and make landfall between the cities of Zhuhai and Zhanjiang from early Sunday morning to noon as a severe tropical storm or typhoon. Its intensity will gradually weaken after landfall, according to meteorological authorities.

The Guangdong provincial flood control, drought relief and wind prevention headquarters upgraded its typhoon emergency response to Level III at 11 p.m. on Saturday. The headquarters have instructed all local authorities to maintain close surveillance of the typhoon's movement, enhance maritime and land-based wind and flood prevention measures, and spare no effort to ensure public safety.

Affected by the typhoon, during daytime on Sunday, the Qiongzhou Strait and Beibu Gulf will experience easterly winds of force five with gusts reaching force seven to eight during thunderstorms. Wind forces in the eastern sea areas of Hainan Island will gradually increase to force seven to nine, with gusts reaching force 10 to 11. Sea areas near the Xisha and Zhongsha Islands will experience strengthening wind forces, reaching force six to eight with gusts of force 8 to 10.

The Haikou transportation and port authority announced at 8 a.m. on Sunday that the three main ports facilitating cross-strait transportation in Haikou, the capital of Hainan, will halt operations from 2 p.m. on Sunday, with resumption subject to weather conditions.

China has a four-tier emergency response system, with Level I being the most severe response. ■