CHINA’S national observatory renewed a blue alert for Typhoon Sanba on Thursday morning.

It is expected to bring strong winds and heavy rain to the country’s southern, eastern and central regions.

Typhoon Sanba, the 16th typhoon of this year, landed at a coastal area of Dongfang City in South China’s Hainan Province at around 9 a.m. Thursday, producing gales of up to 20 meters per second near its center, according to the National Meteorological Center.

It is traveling northward at a speed of 10-15 km per hour, with its strength likely to gradually increase.

Affected by the typhoon, strong gales are forecast in parts of the South China Sea, the Beibu Gulf, the Qiongzhou Strait, Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan, while rainstorms are expected to lash parts of Hunan, Jiangxi, Guangxi and Guangdong.

The center urged local authorities to prepare typhoon emergency response measures and remain on high alert for possible floods and geological disasters.(Xinhua)