Taiwan braced Monday for Typhoon Hagupit as the storm approached the Bashih Strait between Taiwan and the Philippines, DPA reported. After issuing a sea warning Sunday afternoon for Hagupit, the Central Weather Bureau issued a land warning early Monday as the storm was intensifying and moving closer to Taiwan. In the last eight hours, Hagupit had moved some 200 kilometres closer to Taiwan, and its strength has also intensified, the bureau said. By 2:30 am Monday (1830 GMT Sunday), the eye of Hagupit was 530 kilometres south-east of Erlunpi, Taiwan's southern tip. Moving in a north-westerly direction at 20 kilometres per hour, Hagupit packs centre winds of 126 kph and gusts of 162 kph. The radius of typhoon-strength winds is 250 km. The bureau expects Hagupit to bring strong winds and heavy rain starting Tuesday to south and south-east Taiwan. Taiwan is affected by an average of a dozen typhoons annually, with several of them making direct landfall on Taiwan and causing serious damage. Hagupit comes on the heels of Typhoon Sinlaku, which killed at least 11 people and left 11 missing. Sinlaku crossed Taiwan's northern tip on September 14 after spiralling for several days off Taiwan's north-east coast. Heavy rains brought by the typhoon set off landslides in Taiwan's central mountains, toppling one hotel, burying one section of a mountain tunnel and caused one section of a bridge to collapse.
