More than 6,900 people, mainly seafood farmers, had been evacuated from their homes in southeast China by Thursday afternoon as Typhoon Bilis approached, local authorities said.

As of 5:00 PM Thursday, the eye of Bilis was located about 120 km southeast of Hualien, Taiwan Province, and was moving northwestward at around 15 to 20 km per hour toward eastern Taiwan, packing winds of 117 km per hour, the provincial observatory of Fujian forecast Thursday.

Bilis, the fourth typhoon to threaten China this year, is estimated to land on northeastern Taiwan on Thursday night and on the mainland province of Fujian at Friday noon.

The observatory issued alarms against rainstorms and strong winds. As of 4:30 PM Thursday, more than 8,900 fishing boats had been directed back to harbor.

All passenger liners had suspended services in Fujian. Air traffic in the province continued, but local airports were on high alert to make responsive changes in fights, according to the provincial office for flood and drought relief.

Meanwhile, water conservation workers were checking reservoirs in preparation for flooding as the storm was expected to bring rainfalls of up to 250 mm from Thursday night.

The fishery departments of eastern Zhejiang Province, neighboring Fujian, has also issued warnings of high seas and rainstorms, advising vessels to return to harbor ahead of the storm.

(Xinhua News Agency July 14, 2006)