Typhoon Saola expected to bring strong winds, heavy rainfall to South, East China

Typhoon Saola, the ninth of the year, is approaching the eastern coast of Guangdong province and will bring extremely strong wind and rainfall to the region, according to the National Meteorological Center on Thursday.

Despite its small size, the storm's impact should not be underestimated, the center said.

Regardless of whether Saola makes landfall or skirts along the eastern coast of China, the region will experience powerful gales and torrential downpours.

Due to the current uncertainty of the typhoon's path, determining its range of impact is challenging. It is not advisable to narrow the range for a small-sized typhoon. Instead, it should be expanded according to the unpredictable nature of its path, the center said, adding that smaller typhoons can be even more dangerous than larger ones.

Their tightly compacted structure often results in high energy levels near their core, leading to strong winds and heavy rainfall in their vicinity, the center said.

Examples of this include Typhoon Meranti in 2010 and Typhoon Marge that hit Qionghai city, Hainan province, in 1973, the center said.