Beijing, China ? A tropical storm strengthened into a full-blown typhoon on Wednesday as it headed on a collision course with southern China, forecasters warned.

The storm has been steadily gathering strength while churning across the South China Sea from the Philippines, where it earlier left at least six people dead.

With Typhoon Prapiroon expected to make landfall between tonight and Friday, 65,000 people have been evacuated from parts of south China’s Hainan Island and neighboring Guangdong province, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

The storm is “as strong, if not stronger” than an earlier storm, Bilis, Gao Shuanzhu, a senior official at the China’s national observatory, said.

Bilis caused landslides and rising waters that killed more than 600 people in southern China last month.