This year's twelfth tropical storm, Beimian (Northern Crown), struck the coastal area of Lufeng City, Guangdong Province, south China, at 6:15 am Monday.

Stormforce winds at the center dropped to gales when it moved into Meizhou City, Guangdong, at 24.3 degrees north and 115.9 degrees east, according to the Central Meteorological Station.

The center is expected to go on moving northward and will enter the southwest of Fujian Province.

Winds with forces ranging from strong breezes to gales are expected to affect the Bashi Strait, the Taiwan Strait, the sea area east of Taiwan, the northeastern part of the South China Sea, the southern part of the East China Sea, the eastern coastal area of Guangdong Province, and the coastal areas of Fujian and Zhejiang Provinces.

Meanwhile, rains ranging from heavy to rainstorms are expected to hit Guangdong, Fujian, Taiwan, Jiangxi and Hainan Provinces, and parts of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Hunan, Zhejiang and Anhui Provinces.

(Xinhua News Agency August 5, 2002)