Typhoon Nuri continued to intensify as it maintained its course towards south China on Wednesday, according to the meteorological station in southeast China's Fujian Province.

The eye of Nuri, the twelfth tropical storm this year, was 700 kilometers south of Xiamen City at 8:00 PM, packing winds of up to force-13, or 144 kilometers per hour, in the center, said the station.

Nuri was moving towards southeastern coastal areas at a speed of 20 kilometers per hour, and would enter the South China Sea on Thursday.

Fujian's seashores were hit by gusts of up to force 8 (51 kilometers per hour) on Wednesday morning. The observatory forecast heavy rain in most areas in the province in the next two days.

Fujian and neighboring Guangdong Province in south China had been dominated by lingering heat with temperatures rising to 37 degree Celsius. The observatories expected the impending typhoon to cool the air.

The meteorological station in Guangdong forecast heavy rain in the eastern part of the province from Friday to Saturday.

The Ministry of Agriculture on Tuesday night issued an urgent notice requiring fishery and agricultural departments in Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Anhui, Jiangxi and Guangdong, to keep the public informed and help fishing vessels avoid risks.

(Xinhua News Agency August 20, 2008)