HAIKOU -- Shipping services on the Qiongzhou Strait, a waterway that connects South China's island province of Hainan and Guangdong Province on the mainland, have been suspended due to the arrival of strong tropical storm Jebi.

Local authorities ordered boats in the strait to return to harbor at 8 pm Thursday before the tropical storm strengthened to a strong tropical storm three hours later, according to the marine affairs bureau of Haikou, capital of Hainan.

The bureau has issued a yellow alert and initiated an emergency response for the storm.

As of 7 am Friday, the storm was moving northwest at a speed of 15 km/h. It is expected to land near Hainan's city of Wenchang or Lingshui Li Autonomous County Friday afternoon or night, according to the Hainan provincial weather forecast station.

In the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, which borders Guangdong, nearly 10,000 tourists on Weizhou Island have been evacuated to the coastal city of Beihai since Thursday to prepare for the arrival of the storm, according to the city government.

More than 1,300 tourists were stranded on the island for two days in late June, when typhoon Bebinca hit the region.