Small craft owners should now complete arrangements for the safety of their boats, while fishing vessels not yet in typhoon shelters should seek shelter without delay, it added.
With the effect of Strong Wind Signal No. 3, the Home Affairs Department of the city's government has activated a public inquiry service hotline to provide a round-the-clock inquiry service to the public on the tropical cyclone.
The Education Bureau ordered that classes of kindergartens, schools for children with physical disability and schools for children with intellectual disability should be suspended in the day.
"These schools, however, should keep their premises open and implement contingency measures to look after arriving students. They should ensure that conditions are safe before students are allowed to return home," the Education Bureau said in a special announcement.
The Tourism Commission of the HKSAR government also announced that an entertainment program "A Symphony of Lights", scheduled for Wednesday night, would be suspended.
Chanthu is expected to make landfall in south China's Guangdong and Hainan provinces on Thursday, the Chinese National Meteorological Center (NMC) said earlier in the day.
Chanthu, the third tropical storm of the year, which strengthened early Wednesday, is forecast to move northwestward at a speed of 15 km per hour, said the NMC.
Special Report: China Fights Against Floods
