Photo taken on July 12, 2013 shows the high sea wave in Miaozihu Village in Zhoushan City, east China's Zhejiang Province. Typhoon Soulik is expected to hit or pass waters near southeast China's Taiwan late Friday or early Saturday morning before landing on the mainland on Saturday, according to the National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center. (Xinhua/Xu Yu)

China issues red wave warning as Typhoon Soulik nears

An orange wave warning for Typhoon Soulik was raised to red, the highest level, on Friday afternoon, according to the National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center.

From Friday night to Saturday daytime, Soulik is expected to whip up sea waves as high as 8 to 11 meters in the southern part of the East China Sea and in waters near the Diaoyu Islands.

It is also expected to create waves up to 9 meters high in the Taiwan Strait, as well as waves of 4 to 6 meters near east China's Zhejiang and Fujian provinces.

Soulik is moving toward waters east of Taiwan, as well as Fujian and Zhejiang, and is expected to hit or pass waters near Taiwan late Friday or early Saturday morning before landing on the mainland on Saturday

The center also forecast up to 220 cm of precipitation from Friday to Saturday afternoon in coastal areas in Zhejiang and Fujian.

The center urged local government departments to strengthen protection for local fishing industries and patrol levees for potential risks.

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