Typhoon shuts down southern Taiwan

[AsahinaKimi]

TAIPEI Aug 29 (Reuters) - Typhoon Nanmadol made landfall in Taiwan early on Monday, bringing heavy rains and winds of around 35 metres per second and forcing evacuations in the island's south and east, but there were no immediate reports of serious damage.

Mindful of the fierce criticism it received for its handling of deadly typhoon Morakot in 2009, and with presidential elections looming, the government had deployed some 35,000 soldiers and evacuated over 3,000 residents, mostly in the island's rural, mountainous southeast, ahead of the storm.

Nanmadol hit the northern Philippines late last week, killing 12 and injuring 21, the country's national disaster council said on Monday. Nearly 14,000 people were being housed in evacuation centres.

The storm is the first of the season to make landfall in Taiwan. It is expected to cross the island's south before weakening and heading for China.

Storm tracking service Tropical Storm Risk puts the storm currently at Category 1, the lowest on the scale, and sees it weakening to a tropical storm in 12 hours. See www.tropicalstormrisk.com/

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http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL4E7JT01O20110829

Chatting with my friend Lin Chun Ying in Taipei. She is checking if she should even go to work, said the winds were too heavy for her motorcycle. I told her to stay home..