At least seven typhoons are expected to hit China this year, the Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters said in May.

Typhoon season runs from July to September, with the most intense storms occurring between August and October.

Zhang Ling, chief typhoon forecaster at the typhoon and marine forecast center under the China Meteorological Administration, said the number of typhoons likely to land in the country is similar to the average number recorded since 1949.

The first typhoon is expected to hit about mid-June, a little earlier than usual, Li Benxia, a typhoon expert at the National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center of the State Oceanic Administration, said.

She said Zhejiang and Fujian provinces, near the East China Sea, may see more than six typhoons, and the local authorities should prepare for a harsh typhoon season.

The South China Sea area is likely to be mild compared with the East China Sea, according to Li.

Experts have warned local authorities to pay close attention to the coming typhoon season, because the severe weather can cause damage and casualties on a massive scale.

CMA Spokesman Chen Zhenlin said heavy rainfall is also expected.

Saomai, one of the deadliest typhoons in China since 1949, struck Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi and Hubei provinces in 2006, killing an estimated 483 people and displacing nearly two million. Direct economic losses reached about 19.7 billion yuan ($ 3.2 billion).

In Fujian, the powerful typhoon lead to 40-meter high waves, sinking more than 400 fishing boats.

Typhoons not only trigger dangerous ocean conditions, but also floods and wild storms with heavy rains and gales, which can flatten buildings and uproot trees.

Impact of typhoons

Zhang said most of the damage caused by typhoons is from rainstorms, gales and storms. She said China is particularly vulnerable to typhoons. .

According to statistics released by the Ministry of Civil Affairs, from 1991 to 2007, typhoons claimed about 456 lives and caused economic losses of more than 33 billion yuan across the country each year.