Taipei - Taiwan warned of torrential rain and landslides on Thursday as Typhoon Matsa heads towards the island's north-eastern coast.
If the typhoon stays on its present course, it is unlikely to make landfall. But the Central Weather Bureau issued a land alert, saying the storm is likely to bring heavy rain to the island's north-east region.
Businesses have not been affected so far.
By 3am on Thursday, Matsa's centre was 350km east south-east of Ilan on the north-eastern coast and was moving north-west at 14km/h.
The storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 144km/h and gusts of up to 180km/h.
Typhoon Haitang killed 12 people in Taiwan last month with another three still missing and resulted in economic damages of T$4.8 billion (about R975-million) in the agricultural sector, according to the latest government figures.
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It then hurled into China, forcing a million residents on the mainland's south-east coast to evacuate.
In 2001, one of Taiwan's deadliest years for storms, Typhoon Toraji killed 200 people. A few months later, Typhoon Nari caused Taipei's worst flooding on record and killed one hundred people.
Typhoons gather strength from warm sea water and tend to dissipate after making landfall. They frequently hit Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, Hong Kong and Southern China during a typhoon season that lasts from early summer to late autumn.
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