China renews alert for Typhoon Soudelor

China's meteorological authority on Thursday night renewed an orange alert, the second highest level in its warning system, for the approaching Typhoon Soudelor.

Heavy gales and rainstorms will hit southeastern coastal regions of the country, including the northern and central parts of Taiwan from Thursday to Friday evening, said the National Meteorological Center (NMC).

On Saturday night, Soudelor will land on the eastern coast of Fujian Province with a wind speed of 33 to 38 meters per second, according to the NMC.

China has a four-tier color-coded warning system for severe weather, with red being the most serious, followed by orange, yellow and blue. The NMC first issued a yellow alert for the typhoon on Thursday morning.