HAIKOU -- Barijat, the 23rd typhoon this year, has formed on the South China Sea and is moving westward at a speed of 10 to 15 km per hour as of Tuesday morning, the provincial meteorological bureau of Hainan said.

The bureau has issued an alert, warning against strong gales and downpours brought by the tropical storm, with maximum wind speed reaching 18 meters per second near its eye, about 850 km away from the city of Leizhou, Guangdong province.

It is expected to land in an area between western Guangdong and eastern Hainan during the day on Thursday.