A senior Chinese official has called for more efforts to prevent rain-triggered disasters on the island province of Hainan as it prepares for a strong typhoon.

During a two-day visit to Hainan that ended Wednesday, Vice Premier Hui Liangyu asked authorities to evacuate local residents in a timely manner and to take proactive measures to cope with typhoon Megi.

Typhoon Megi is the 13th typhoon of the season and may be the strongest typhoon to hit China this year.

Hainan has been lashed by torrential rains since Sept. 30.

When visiting evacuated residents, Hui urged authorities to provide food, clean water and medical services to the flood-affected people while taking measures to prevent outbreaks of disease.