Strong tropical storm Kammuri was forecast to hit the Chinese mainland later on Wednesday after being located 321 km from the south Guangdong Province earlier in the day, according to the observatory in southeast Fujian Province.

The storm was predicted to hit the coast between Shenzhen and Dianbai cities, in the afternoon or evening, bringing heavy rains.

The eye of the storm, at 20.8 degrees north and 114 degrees east, was packing up winds up to force 10 at a speed of 90 kilometers per hour on Wednesday morning, the Fujian observatory said.

Rail services on ferries cross the Qiongzhou Strait to the island province of Hainan were suspended at 7:00 AM due to strong winds brought by Kammuri.

Fujian was affected by the storm with torrential rains on Tuesday night.

The observatories in Guangdong and neighboring Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Tuesday issued a warning in response to Kammuri, the ninth tropical storm of the year.

Local authorities called vessels to harbor and reinforced patrols along embankments to watch for possible flooding.

China's coastal areas are still recovering from tropical storm Kalmaegi in early July and typhoon Fung-Wong, which struck last week.

(Xinhua News Agency August 6, 2008)