Zhejiang province, which is expected to be hit head-on by the powerful Typhoon Lekima on Saturday morning, has activated the top-level emergency response mechanism and required all relevant authorities to stay on duty 24 hours a day to ward off potential calamities brought about by strong gusts and heavy downpours.

Che Jun, secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China and top official in the province, said on Friday that the fight against Typhoon Lekima has “entered the most critical stage”, urging all Party and government authorities to take “thorough and detailed” measures to evacuate marine and fishery populations along coastal areas.

In Wenzhou of southern Zhejiang, the city issued an emergency notice to call off weekend holidays of government agencies, urging all related staff to devote themselves to the battle against the typhoon.

By noon Friday, a total of 164 flights were cancelled at the Wenzhou airport — 92 inbound and 72 outbound.

"The wind is getting increasingly stronger, and all passing vehicles have to drive at a speed of 30 km or lower per hour,” said Zhang Yu, a traffic policeman at Yueqing Bay Bridge in Yuhuan county, Taizhou.

The provincial capital of Hangzhou shut down its scenic Thousand Island Lake area and cancelled all cruise trips on the Great Canal and Qiantang River on Friday.

The West Lake management authority also issued a safety notice on Friday, cancelling the business operation of all tourist passenger ships on the lake to ensure passenger safety and prepare for the heavy rainfall.

“We have enough commodities in stock and there was no obvious hoarding for items today,” a sales clerk at Lianhua Supermarket in Hangzhou said on Friday, adding only one customer rushed to the store to buy a crate of instant noodles 20 minutes before.

Huang Shilan contributed to the story