Paramilitary policemen help a fisherman secure his fishing boat before the arrival of tropical storm Nanmadol in Luoyuan county of Fujian province, Aug 30, 2011. [Photo/Xinhua]

FUZHOU - As tropical storm Nanmadol approaches eastern China's Fujian Province, flights have been canceled, shipping lines remain suspended, and fishermen have been evacuated.

Nanmadol was located 30 km away from the city of Jinjiang in Fujian, packing winds of 82.8 km per hour near its center at 4 pm Tuesday, according to the observatory in Fujian.

Previously categorized as a typhoon, Nanmadol was downgraded to a tropical storm around 10 am Monday, and was forecast to hit southern parts of Fujian Tuesday night, according to the provincial meteorological bureau.

Several cracks, each measuring two meters in length, were discovered Tuesday morning along a 400-meter section of the seawall along Jinjiang's coast in the village of Weitou, which is only 100 meters from the seawall, said Xiao Yuanpeng with the border protection brigade of the city of Quanzhou, which administers Jinjiang.

About 200 soldiers have fixed the fissures and strengthened the rest of the seawall, Xiao said.

The Xiamen-Jinmen shipping line, which links the mainland and Taiwan, has been suspended since Monday afternoon, and Jinjiang Airport has canceled six flights.

Quanzhou municipal authorities have organized more than 41,000 people into rescue teams to prepare for potential emergencies.

In Xiaquan village in neighboring Zhejiang Province, 28 kindergarten students and teachers were trapped by flooding at their school after torrential rains hit the area Tuesday morning.

Six rescuers carried the children and their teachers on their backs through the waist-deep water to safety, said rescuers with the county's fire-fighting brigade.

Some villagers called for help as they stood on their roofs. After bringing them to safety, the rescuers then checked door-to-door to ensure no one remained in the flooded houses, rescuers said.

Rescuer Li Zhengfeng said that on Tuesday, their brigade received 38 calls for help and brought more than 50 people to safety.

Nanmadol will bring high tide levels with heavy rainfall of 200 mm to 350 mm, which might lead to flooding and secondary disasters, according to a report released by the meteorological bureau.