Super typhoon "Krosa," the 16th this year, is expected to make a landfall on east China's coastal areas on Sunday (Oct 7) midnight or early Monday morning, according to local meteorological bureau on Friday.

Packing winds of 198 kilometers per hour at its eyes, the typhoon, located at 21.6 degrees north and 124.8 degrees east at 7 p.m., has been heading northwestward at 10-15 km per hour, said sources with the Zhejiang provincial meteorological station.

It is likely to land on the coastal areas of eastern Zhejiang or Fujian Provinces after lashing east China with rainstorms and gales in the weekend.

The typhoon coincides with the ongoing seven-day National Day holiday from Oct.1 to 10 while flocks of tourists are visiting sea resorts or surrounding islands in the two provinces.

More than 200 sightseeing boats have been in operation in the sea along Zhejiang's coast, and Fujian's famous coastal sceneries, such as Gulangyu Islet and Meizhou Island, can receive more than100,000 tourists every day.

All tours have been called off in Zhejiang's coastal area and all vacationers had been evacuated from the islands upon the emergency warning issued by the provincial maritime bureau Friday morning.

In the Nanji Island of Wenzhou, where two strong typhoons -- last year's Saomai and this year's Wipha -- churned ashore, more than 2,500 tourists have been evacuated.

Police are sending out notice cards in docks and scenic sites to remind tourists to get prepared for Krosa and helping them book ship tickets. "We had planned to stay over for one more day as we had no idea of the typhoon," said a tourist surnamed Sun.

In the neighboring Fujian Province, all tourism offices in Fujian have been told to cancel coastal scenic sites in their itineraries and help evacuate tourists to safe places, said Li Yiqiang, vice head of Fujian tourism bureau.

"The inland terrain is rough and mountainous. We will keep a close eye on the rainfalls in case heavy rains trigger landslide, posing threat to tourists," Li said.

All the fishing boats in east Fujian have been called back to harbors before 6 p.m. Saturday while officials in the areas are ordered to be back to post before the holiday ends.

The adjacent Guangdong Province is also keeping close watch to the typhoon and has ordered local governments help people in dangerous regions evacuate.

In Shanghai, where the ongoing Special Olympics stole media focus, local government is drafting emergencies plans for drainage of the competition venues to ensure smooth operation of the sports event.

Such a big typhoon to hit China as Krosa is rare in autumn, said Lin Xinbin, deputy head of the Fujian provincial meteorological station. Referring to it as a "queer typhoon", he noted that the route of Krosa is hard to predict.

According to experts with the Zhejiang provincial meteorological station, the number of typhoons in October is small but their damages could be huge.

During the National Holiday in 2005, typhoon Longwang ravaged east China, triggering flash floods and a landslide, which destroyed barracks with cadets inside, killing 85.

Editor: Wing