BEIJING, Aug. 31 -- China's Ministry of Transport said Thursday it has deployed 16 high-power rescue-and-salvage ships and nine rescue helicopters in eastern and southern coastal areas that could be hit by Typhoon Saola and Typhoon Haikui.

The ministry has also readied five emergency rescue teams for coastal areas of Guangdong and Hainan, as well as the Pearl River estuary area, as Typhoon Saola, the ninth typhoon of this year, draws near. Meanwhile, six such teams have been deployed for the Taiwan Strait, Zhejiang and the Yangtze River estuary area, where Typhoon Haikui, the 11th typhoon of this year, is expected to hit.

Typhoon Saola is expected to make landfall somewhere in the coastal areas stretching from Huilai to Hong Kong on Friday afternoon or Friday night. However, there is also a chance of it moving west by south, passing through the waters off eastern Guangdong without making landfall.

China's national observatory on Thursday renewed a red alert for Typhoon Saola, the most severe warning in its four-tier typhoon warning system. Saola is expected to bring gales and heavy rain to southern and eastern parts of the country.

Typhoon Haikui is expected to enter the southeastern areas of the East China Sea on Friday night.