The first typhoon this year, Nepartak, is expected to bring gales and heavy rain to east China's Zhejiang and Fujian provinces from Thursday night, Zhejiang meteorological bureau warned on Wednesday.

At 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Nepartak's center was about 1,236 km southeast of Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province, packing winds up to 68 meters per second, according to the bureau.

Nepartak was moving northwest at a speed about 30 km per hour.

It is forecast to make landfall in Taiwan early on Friday and possibly make another landfall in Fujian on Friday night or Saturday morning.

Heavy rain is expected in Zhejiang Province from Friday night, adding to the already perilous local flood situation, the provincial meteorological bureau said.

Starting Thursday, the Fujian-Taiwan ferry services would be halted for sea transport safety, the transport authorities in Fujian said.

Meanwhile, local railway authorities would halt selling tickets for trains scheduled to run in or through the Fujian province on Friday and Saturday.

In Guangdong, the provincial ocean and fishery department on Wednesday night ordered all fishing boats to return to ports for safety as big waves and torrential rain are forecast for the next three days.

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