BEIJING - China's National Meteorological Center (NMC) on Wednesday evening issued a red alert for typhoon Yagi, which is expected to bring strong wind and heavy rain to the country's southern regions.

China Meteorological Administration has upgraded the emergency response for the typhoon from level-IV to level-II.

Typhoon Yagi will move northwest at a speed of about 10 km per hour, with gradually increasing intensity, the NMC forecasted, adding that it is expected to make landfall along the coastal areas from Qionghai in Hainan to Dianbai in Guangdong on Friday afternoon.

Following the typhoon, gales are expected to batter the Taiwan Strait, the Bashi Channel, most parts of the South China Sea as well as parts of the coastal areas of Fujian and Guangdong from Wednesday evening to Thursday evening, the NMC said.

In the meantime, heavy rainfall is expected to hit parts of the Taiwan Island, the coastal areas of Guangdong and the Hainan Island, according to the center.

China has a four-tier, color-coded weather warning system, with red representing the most severe warning, followed by orange, yellow and blue.