East China's Fujian Province on Monday advised the cancellation of all outdoor gatherings and high-level outdoor work, as tropical storm Linfa continued to lash the coastal area.

The provincial meteorological bureau issued an orange alert for torrential rains, the second highest alert, at 6:00 AM on Monday, after Linfa arrived on Sunday.

The eye of the storm was located at 25.8 degrees north and 119.4degrees east as of 7:20 AM on Monday, packing winds of up to force level 9, or 83 km per hour, according to the Fujian Provincial Meteorological Bureau.

Linfa, the third tropical storm of this year, brought downpours to Zhangzhou, in the south coastal city of Fujian, with a maximum rainfall of 200 mm by 5:00 AM. Rain was forecast in most cities in the province in the next two days.

The provincial Oceanic and Fisheries bureau recalled 30,000 fishing boats and 162,757 people working at sea to harbor Sunday evening.

The navigation route between Xiamen, in Fujian, and Jinmen, in Taiwan, was closed indefinitely according to the provincial maritime affairs bureau.

About 10.68 million short messages were sent by local telecommunication authorities on Sunday, requiring schoolchildren to stay at home Monday and factories in torrential rain-hit areas to close.

(Xinhua News Agency June 22, 2009)