China tightened its marine disaster warning measures for nuclear plants and other key projects in coastal areas, as three to four typhoon-triggered storm surges are predicted to hit the country's southeastern coast.

The alert was issued based on estimates from historical records of storm surges in China's coastal areas and analysis of recent climate conditions, said Dong Jianxi, a chief forecaster at the National Marine Environmental Forecasting Centre (NMEFC).

Dong said the center will provide forecast service as precise as possible to ensure the safety of coastal nuclear power plants.

The fourth tropical storm of the year, Haima, which formed early Tuesday morning, has brought gusty winds to southern Hainan Province, and caused some passenger ships to stop business on Wednesday, the local marine bureau said.

Haima was expected to make landfall between Taishan and Xuwen in Guangdong Province on Thursday morning, with winds hitting force scale 8, according to the website of the China Meteorological Administration.

A storm surge is an offshore rise of water associated with a low pressure weather system, typically tropical cyclones and strong extratropical cyclones. These storms cause high winds that batter the ocean's surface, creating massive waves.

The storm surges will likely result casualties and property loss, experts said, adding that eastern provinces of Jiangsu and Fujian will be hit hard by the storm surges.

"Storm surges are the most destructive type of marine disasters to hit China's coastal areas," said Yu Fujiang, the NMEFC's deputy director.