Typhoon Morakot to hit Taiwan
Typhoon Morakot is due to make landfall on Taiwan on Friday.
The strongest typhoon so far this year is due to make landfall today in Taiwan before moving on to the south coast of China.
Typhoon Morakot has been classed as a category 2 typhoon, the second weakest on the Tropical Cyclone scale of 1-5. It is currently at its maximum strength, packing sustained wind speeds of 98 mph with gusts of up to 120mph.
After passing over the Taiwanese city of Taipei today, forecasters predict the typhoon will weaken and move onto the Chinese provinces of Zheijiang and Fujian, east of Hong Kong where it is once again expected to bring heavy rain and dangerous sea conditions.
It is the 8th tropical storm to hit the region so far this year. The most recent storm, Goni, caused deadly landslides in the Philippines earlier this week before hitting the Chinese province of Guangdong on Wednesday morning. Last night, heavy rain from remnants of the tropical depression caused a landslide in Sichuan province.
High ocean surface temperatures lead to the development of around 20 typhoons in the South China Sea every year.
