BEIJING - China's National Meteorological Center (NMC) on Saturday morning renewed its forecast for the approaching Typhoon Koppu, which is expected to batter China's southeastern regions.

Koppu, the 24th typhoon of the year, entered the ocean surface some 435 kilometers northeast of Manila in the Philippines on Saturday morning with a speed at the center of the typhoon topping 48 meters per second.

The typhoon is forecast to move westward at a speed of up to 15 km per hour and grow stronger, the NMC said.

The typhoon will bring gales to coastal regions of Fujian Province and Taiwan in the next two days.

Earlier this month, Mujigae, the 22nd typhoon of the year, claimed 19 lives in south China's Guangdong province while forcing at least 135,100 people in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region to evacuate.