TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan closed schools and offices as a large typhoon with 162 - (100 miles-) per-hour winds approached the mountainous island Tuesday.

Authorities raised alert levels because Typhoon Megi's bands of wind and rain were expected to cover the entire island, which is prone to landslides and flooding, said National Fire Agency Director-General Chen Wen-lung.

Megi was expected to make landfall in the evening and pass over the island's steep central mountain range during the night.

The Central Weather Bureau said Megi is 500 (310 miles) in diameter and its winds will gust up to 198 per hour.

Chen said that as of Tuesday morning 5,336 people were evacuated from mountainous areas that are prone to landslides and flooding. More than half went to shelters and the rest to the homes of family or friends, Chen said. Schools and offices were closed across the island.

Megi is the fourth typhoon of the year to hit Taiwan.

Flights were at Taiwan's Taoyuan International Airport, while high-speed rail and most other trains also stopped operations.

On the Chinese coast, about 160 (100 miles) from Taiwan, fishing boats were ordered back to port. </s> TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan closed schools and offices as a large typhoon with 162 kilometers- (100 miles-) per-hour winds approached the mountainous island Tuesday.

Authorities raised alert levels because Typhoon Megi’s bands of wind and rain were expected to cover the entire island, which is prone to landslides and flooding, said National Fire Agency Director-General Chen Wen-lung.

Megi was expected to make landfall in the evening and pass over the island’s steep central mountain range during the night.

The Central Weather Bureau said Megi is 500 kilometers (310 miles) in diameter and its winds will gust up to 198 kilometers per hour.

Chen said that as of Tuesday morning 5,336 people were evacuated from mountainous areas that are prone to landslides and flooding. More than half went to shelters and the rest to the homes of family or friends, Chen said. Schools and offices were closed across the island.

Megi is the fourth typhoon of the year to hit Taiwan.

Flights were canceled at Taiwan’s Taoyuan International Airport, while high-speed rail and most other trains also stopped operations.

On the Chinese coast, about 160 kilometers (100 miles) from Taiwan, fishing boats were ordered back to port. </s> The island's financial markets will also be shut, financial regulators said.

Typhoon Megi is expected to make landfall on the island's eastern coast on Tuesday afternoon.

"Apart from heavy rains, there will be huge wind gusts," Hsieh Ming-chang, a Central Weather Bureau official, said on television.

The island's bullet train said it would suspend services on Tuesday. EVA Airways Corp, one of Taiwan's main international airlines, said it was cancelling or rescheduling some international flights.

Earlier this month Typhoon Meranti killed at least 28 people in China and Taiwan and cut power to more than a million homes.

Typhoons are common in the region at this time of year, picking up strength as they cross warm Pacific waters and bringing fierce winds and rain when they reach land. </s> Most schools and offices were shut and the north-south bullet train suspended services as Typhoon Megi, packing winds of well over 160 kph (100 mph), roared in from the Pacific and hit eastern Taiwan.

At least 32 people were injured and more than 5,300 evacuated, the government's Central Emergency Operation Center said, while more than 950,000 households had lost power, according to the main power supplier, Taiwan Power Co.

Taiwan's financial markets were closed because of the storm.

Television footage showed people, who ignored warnings to stay indoors, scurrying along city streets clutching umbrellas to try to fend off the rain, which grew heavier as the storm approached.

Bus and subway services were mostly suspended in the capital, Taipei, while hundreds of international flights were canceled.

Jen Li-yu, an official with the Central Weather Bureau, said the storm would lose strength after it made landfall though flooding and strong winds would continue.

The typhoon is expected to move across Taiwan and head into the Taiwan Strait and on towards China on Wednesday.

This month, super Typhoon Meranti killed 28 people in China and Taiwan and cut power to more than a million homes.

Typhoons are common in the region at this time of year, picking up strength as they cross warm Pacific waters and bringing fierce wind and rain when they reach land.
Taiwan authorities close schools and offices as Typhoon Megi approaches the island.