BEIJING, June 13 -- China's State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters on Friday upgraded its emergency response for flood and typhoon control to Level III in the provincial-level regions of Hainan, Guangdong and Guangxi, all located in south China, in response to Typhoon Wutip, the first typhoon of the year.

A working team has been dispatched to Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region to provide on-site guidance, while two previously deployed teams continue to assist with flood and typhoon prevention efforts in Ledong Li Autonomous County in the southernmost island province of Hainan, as well as in Zhanjiang, a coastal city in Guangdong Province.

As of 10 a.m. on Friday, the center of Typhoon Wutip, classified as a severe tropical storm, was located off the coast of Ledong. It is forecast to move northward at a speed of around 10 kilometers per hour, skimming the western coast of Hainan before predictably making landfall between Xuwen in Guangdong and Beihai in Guangxi around midday Saturday.

Affected by the typhoon, heavy to torrential rainfall is expected from Friday to Sunday in regions including Hainan, western and northern Guangdong, and eastern and coastal areas of Guangxi.

China has a four-tier emergency response system for flood control, with Level I being the most severe.