After four days of respite from rain, the Shenzhen observatory has again forecast continuous rain starting today.

The observatory issued a typhoon alert yesterday, as typhoon Prapiroon, packing winds at 90 kilometers per hour, was moving across the South China Sea.

Prapiroon is expected to affect the southern provinces of Hainan, Guangdong, Guizhou and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It could bring between 100 to 180 millimeters of rainfall to these regions.

"This tropical storm is likely to have a big impact in South China," says Wang Bangzhong, head of the Department of Forecasting Services of the China Meteorological Administration.

Starting today, Shenzhen will see heavy rains and strong winds for three to five days, according to the observatory. The maximum temperature will drop to 27 degrees Celsius today and tomorrow.

The storm has already taken the lives of six people in the Philippines and left two others missing there.

Prapiroon will become the third tropical storm to influence the city within a month. The first two, Bilis and Kaemi, did not have much of an impact on Shenzhen, but caused severe damage in other parts of Guangdong.

Editor: Yan