GUANGZHOU - Shipping and train services on the Qiongzhou Straits, connecting South China's Hainan and Guangdong provinces, have been suspended as Typhoon Utor approaches.

According to the National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center, Utor is expected to make landfall in coastal areas between Hainan and Guangdong from Wednesday afternoon to night.

Ships take shelter at Xingang Port in Haikou, Hainan province as Typhoon Utor approaches, Aug 13, 2013. [Photo/Xinhua]

Shipping services on the Qiongzhou Straits have been closed and trains that will pass through the affected area have also been suspended since 7 am on Tuesday morning, according to Guangzhou Railway (Group) Corporation.

Guangzhou Railway said 500 company personnel have been mobilized to examine ports, highways, banks, tunnels and bridges, and make flood control preparations.

In the island province of Hainan, gales and heavy storms are expected to sweep the province from Tuesday to Wednesday, according to the provincial meteorological bureau.

The bureau has required relevant departments to  prepare for Utor as soon as possible.

The meteorological observatory of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, neighboring Guangdong, on Tuesday also issued an orange alert and initiated an emergency response for Utor, as the typhoon may hit areas from Beihai city to Yulin city on Tuesday morning.

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

The National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center has warned that, from noon on Tuesday to noon on Wednesday, waves as high as 10 meters will emerge in the northern part of the South China Sea.

Seaside bathing and sea travel in the affected areas should be canceled, and coastal organs should take precautionary measures, the center urged.