Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated to safety on Hainan as Wutip, the first typhoon of the year, bears down on the province.

As of 8pm on Thursday, the province had evacuated a total of 16,561 people from construction sites, low-lying flood-prone areas, and regions at risk of flash floods.

All of the province's 30,721 fishing vessels had either returned to ports or taken shelter elsewhere, with over 40,000 people working on the vessels having been evacuated ashore.

As Typhoon Wutip continues to strengthen, the provincial meteorological service maintained a Level III typhoon alert on Friday.

Maximum sustained winds near the storm's centre as of 10am were 28 metres per second.

According to meteorological forecasts at noon, Typhoon Wutip is expected to move northwards at a speed of five to 10 kilometres per hour, with little change in intensity.

Wutip may make landfall or brush the coast between Ledong county and Dongfang City on Friday as a severe tropical storm, packing winds of 25 to 28 metres per second. (Xinhua)