Tropical storm Peipah, the 22nd this year, has entered the South
China Sea, the meteorological observatory in south China's island
province of Hainan said Monday.
Peipah was located in the eastern South China Sea at
8:00?AM Monday, packing winds up to 108 kilometers per hour,
the observatory said.
Peipah intensified into a "super" tropical storm before noon
Sunday and its center is moving westward at a speed of 15 kph.
The observatory has issued public warnings of strong winds. The
storm is expected to pick up force as it moves west in the next 24
hours.
Experts with the observatory forecast winds of up to 60
kilometers per hour at sea.
Peipah left at least six people dead after landing at Luzon in
Philippines Sunday.
The hydrological bureau of south China's Guangdong Province said the storm was unlikely
to hit Guangdong, but was expected to bring much-needed rain to
alleviate a prolonged drought.
The rainfall in the first ten months this year was 60 percent
below the average in the same period of previous years. Major river
stretches saw a 16 to 44-percent drop in water levels compared with
the previous years.
Officials with the bureau said the province faced "discouraging"
water resources for the spring farming, and called on local farmers
to collect rainwater
(Xinhua News Agency November 6, 2007)
