Typhoon Noul formed, to land in southern China

(ECNS) -- A tropical depression east of the Philippines has developed into the 12th typhoon of the year, named Noul, and is expected to make landfall along the coast of Guangdong and Fujian provinces on Saturday night or early Sunday, China's meteorological authority said on Friday.

The National Meteorological Center (NMC) issued an orange alert for the typhoon, which was located about 505 km northeast of Manila in the Philippines at 8 a.m. local time, packing maximum sustained winds of 20 meters per second near its center.

Noul was moving west to northwest at 30 to 35 kilometers per hour and is forecast to gradually intensify, the NMC said. It is expected to enter the northeastern South China Sea late Friday or early Saturday, then approach the coasts of Guangdong and Fujian, before making landfall in an area from Zhuhai in Guangdong to Zhangpu in Fujian with winds of 33 to 40 meters per second.

After landfall, the storm will turn northward and weaken gradually, the NMC added.

(By Alex)