BEIJING, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- China's national observatory on Sunday issued a blue alert for typhoon Fengshen, the 24th typhoon of the year, as it intensified and is expected to bring strong winds and heavy rain to parts of the country's southern regions.

As of 5 p.m. Sunday, the typhoon was located over waters off the west coast of Luzon Island, the Philippines, with maximum winds of 72 km per hour near its center, according to the National Meteorological Center (NMC).

The typhoon is expected to move northwestward at 25-30 km per hour while gradually intensifying. From Tuesday onward, it will steer southwestward over the central and northern parts of the South China Sea, heading towards Vietnam's central coast before gradually weakening, according to the observatory.

Affected by the typhoon, gales are forecast to affect areas including parts of the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait, the South China Sea, as well as coastal regions of Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong between 8 p.m. Sunday and 8 p.m. Monday, the NMC said.

Meanwhile, it said that some areas of Taiwan may experience heavy rainstorms during the same period.

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