China's national observatory on Tuesday issued a yellow alert for Typhoon Bebinca, which is due to make landfall in the southern coastal region Wednesday.

At 5 p.m. Tuesday, the center of Bebinca, this year's 16th typhoon, was over the South China Sea about 190 km southeast of the city of Yangjiang, Guangdong Province, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) said in a statement.

It will continue to move west and is expected to make landfall in Guangdong between Wednesday afternoon and evening, the center said.

The typhoon will bring gales with the speed of up to 90 km/h and heavy rain to areas along its route.

The NMC suggested local governments prepare for possible disasters, ships in affected areas return to port and residents along the typhoon's path stay indoor.

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