SE China faces tropical storms

Dark clouds pass over Zhangzhou, South China"s Fujian province, Sept 1, 2010. [Photo/CFP]

SHANGHAI：Tropical storm Lionrock will bring heavy rains and strong gales to southeast China"s coastal areas, closely following tropical storm Namtheun which hit Fujian Province a day ago, local authorities said Wednesday.Tropical storm Lionrock had weakened but was moving quicker at 10 p.m. Tuesday, heading towards the coastal cities of Guangdong and Fujian provinces, according to Guangdong Provincial observatory.Moving at a speed of 83 kilometers per hour, Lionrock is expected to make landfall in the area from Guangsong"s Shanwei City to Fujian"s Xiamen City, late Wednesday or early Thursday, and might strengthen before landing, said Lin Liangxun, forecaster of the observatory.Lionrock will bring heavy rain to the area from Tuesday to Thursday.Another tropical storm named Namtheun, which made landfall in Hui"an County in Quanzhou City in Fujian at 11:50 p.m. Tuesday and is expected to weaken early Wednesday afternoon.The Namtheun is forecasted to blast Fujian"s coastal cities, including Quanzhou, Xiamen, Zhangzhou and Putian, from Thursday to Friday, with heavy rains, according to Fujian provincial observatory.Meanwhile Typhoon Kompasu is approaching the west sea area of the Demoratic People"s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and is expected to travel at a speed of 25 to 30 kilometers per hour for the next 24 hours.Kompasu delayed the first day of the autumn semester of schools in some coastal cities Wednesday as classes of primary and middle schools in east China"s Zhejiang Province and Shanghai City were canceled to ensure student safety.The effect of Kompasu had been over estimated as the weather turned out sunny in Shanghai Wednesday morning, said an official of Shanghai Observatory.The typhoon had brought rain to the city from late Tuesday to early Wedensday.The Kompasu is packing wind gusts of 126 kilometers per hour near its center at 9 a.m. Wednesday. The observatory lifted the typhoon warning at 11 a.m. and the typhoon is moving towards the Yellow Sea.