Typhoon Saudel slammed into Fujian's coast at around 6:30 a.m. on Thursday – its third landfall in China.

The 18th typhoon of the year hit along the coast of Gulei in Zhangpu County with tropical-storm strength, packing winds of 23 meters per second and triggering a yellow alert. 

Heavy rain is forecast across Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan provinces and the Taiwan region through 8 a.m. Friday, with up to 300 millimeters expected in Fujian and Guangdong provinces. 

Saudel had already been downgraded into a tropical depression after moving into Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on August 30, but it strengthened back into a tropical storm over the South China Sea on September 1, keeping its name and number.