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Super typhoon is on its collision course. Picture: NOAA Satellites
TAIWAN has been told to brace for extreme winds and lashing rains as the first typhoon of the season approaches, prompting the evacuation of thousands of tourists from offshore islands.
Typhoon Nepartak was blowing gusts of up to 263 kilometres an hour, about 780km southeast of Taiwan’s Hualien city as of 9am Wednesday (7pm AEST), the island’s Central Weather Bureau said.
The “super-typhoon†would likely make landfall early Friday morning, the bureau added.
“As the typhoon kept gaining strength and approaching Taiwan over the past three hours, the Central Weather Bureau decided to issue a sea warning,†senior forecaster Chen Yi-liang told reporters.
“The typhoon could bring in strong winds and torrential rains … Residents must heighten their vigilance.â€
The tropical storm had a radius of 200km and was moving west-northwest at a speed of 20km/h, the bureau added.
Since Tuesday, more than 3000 visitors had been evacuated from Green Island and Orchid Island, two popular tourist spots off southeastern Taitung county, local government officials said.
The defence ministry said it had ordered about 35,000 soldiers to be on standby.
Typhoon Nepartak heads for Taiwan.Source:Supplied
Super typhoon Dujuan killed three people and left more than 300 injured in Taiwan last year after it pounded the island with fierce winds and torrential rains that uprooted trees and triggered multiple landslides.