Typhoon Jangmi is weakening and likely to bring east China's coastal area strong winds and downpours after it shaved the eastern Fujian Province early on Monday, local meteorological bureau said.

Jangmi, the 15th and strongest typhoon of this year, was about 280km south of Wenzhou, in the eastern Zhejiang Province, at 8:00 AM, packing winds of up to force 12, or 126km per hour, in the eye, according to the Zhejiang Provincial Meteorological Bureau.

It is moving northeastward at about 10km per hour and expected to shave Zhejiang's coastal area on Monday afternoon or night.

The typhoon ebbed and changed its path to northeast after having landed in Yilan of Taiwan at 3:40 PM on Sunday.

Though it did not make landfall in Fujian, it was a close shave, said the Fujian Provincial Meteorological Bureau, which issued an orange warning alert for typhoon, the second level alert next to the red one, at 6:00 AM on Monday.

In Fujian, which faces Taiwan across the Taiwan Straits, downpours were forecast in six cities of Ningde, Fuzhou, Putian, Xiamen, Quanzhou and Zhangzhou for the following two days, with a maximum rainfall of 100 mm.

Flights from Fujian's Xiamen to Taiwan's Jinmen have been resumed on Monday morning as the typhoon's impacts over the sea area have weakened, said an official of the Xiamen frontier inspection station.

But the schedule for flights from Jinmen to Xiamen has not been established.

Navigation across the Taiwan Strait had been suspended for nearly two days due to strong winds and waves, which stranded many tourists who were on their weeklong National Day holiday (from September 29 to October 5), the official said.

Sea tours in Zhejiang have also been suspended. As of 10:00 AM on Monday, 236,061 residents were evacuated from low-lying areas and 29,522 boats returned to harbor.

Jangmi is coming on the heels of Hagupit, the 14th strong typhoon of this year. It landed in the southern Guangdong Province last Wednesday.

Hagupit left China on Thursday and moved into Vietnam, after killing at least 17 people.

(Xinhua News Agency September 29, 2008)