Typhoon hits Taiwan, markets, offices closed Monday

(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-07-28 10:40

TAIPEI-- A typhoon packing wind gusts of up to 190 kph (about 120 mph) and forecast to dump up to a metre (40 inches) of rain in places was on course to hit Taiwan on Monday morning, prompting business and market closures.

Typhoon Fung-Wong, Chinese for phoenix, was moving northwest at 13 kph, set to make landfall late Monday morning near the city of Hualien, Taiwan's weather bureau said on its website.

The storm's approach generated rough sea warnings as markets, offices and schools across the island shut for the day.

Transport was disrupted with many flights and rail service suspended.

Heavy rains began to fall in the early hours of Monday morning and were expected to continue throughout the day, with some of the hardest hit areas expected to receive up to 1,000 mm of rain, according to forecasts.

Tropical Storm Risk (http://www.tropicalstormrisk.com) said Fung-Wong was a category 2 storm, and would likely be downgraded to a category 1 storm over the next 24 hours as it crossed Taiwan and headed toward Chinese mainland. A category 2 storm is defined as having maximum sustained winds of 154-177 kph.

From Taiwan, the storm is expected to cross over the Taiwan Strait and arrive in the mainland's Fujian province on Monday night or Tuesday morning.

In Fujian, authorities evacuated over 270,000 people ahead of the storm's arrival.

Chinese media quoted weather experts as saying Fung-Wong might become the most powerful storm to hit East Asia this year, with heavy rain expected to fall over a long period.

Fung-Wong is the second typhoon to hit China's south and east coasts in the last two weeks. On July 18, typhoon Kalmaegi killed at least 20 people in Taiwan and caused extensive flooding, landslides and crop damage.