More than half a million homes have lost power across Taiwan and five people have been injured as super typhoon Meranti, believed to be the world's strongest storm this year, hit the island.
Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau warned that the Category 5 storm threatened several southern and eastern cities, including Kaohsiung and Hualien, with strong winds, torrential rain and flooding.
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Super typhoon Meranti slams southern Taiwan
More than 40,000 households are cut off from electricity in Taiwan as tropical cyclone Meranti brings heavy rainfall and strong gusts of wind.
Meranti, which grew in strength the closer it got to Taiwan, was carrying maximum winds of 227 km per hour as it clipped the south of the island, the weather bureau said.
"This typhoon is the world's strongest so far this year," weather bureau spokeswoman Hsieh Pei-yun said.
Hotel staff securing up the doors as wind and rain batter the building super #typhoon #Meranti #Taiwan pic.twitter.com/GrbcCdYJjS
— James Reynolds (@EarthUncutTV) September 14, 2016
Taiwan's Central Emergency Operation Centre said five people were injured, while many power lines were brought down, some by falling trees, cutting electricity to 550,000 households.
"The damage from Meranti will continue to rise as the storm slams the island," said emergency centre spokesman Li Wei-sen.
"Losses probably cannot be avoided, but we'll try to minimise casualties."
Trains and shipping services were disrupted, while offices and schools in Kaohsiung and other cities were closed and almost 1500 people were evacuated, the centre said.
Most domestic flights have been cancelled, including all of those from Kaohsiung airport, where international flights were also severely affected.
Taiwan will feel the full force of the typhoon through Wednesday and into Thursday before it barrels into China, meteorologists said.
Animation from Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau showing accumulated precipitation over last 6 hours from #Meranti. pic.twitter.com/PPKvePo9aA
— Philip Klotzbach (@philklotzbach) September 13, 2016
Meranti is expected to make landfall in the southern Chinese provinces of Guangdong and Fujian on Thursday, where authorities were cancelling trains and preparing to evacuate people, state media reported.
In Guangdong province, authorities ordered trawlers to return to harbour and fishermen to take shelter.
The official China News Service said the storm could be the strongest typhoon to hit that part of China since 1969.
AAP