Taiwan braces itself as Typhoon Nepartak approaches
Taiwan is on high alert as the arrival of a vast typhoon is expected to hit the island in the next day
Typhoon Nepartak is expected to hit Taiwan in the coming days
The super typhoon packed winds of up to 263km an hour, about 780km south-east of Taiwan's Hualien city on Wednesday, officials said.
Warnings of the risk of flooding and mudslides have reportedly been issued as high winds and lashing rains were expected.
"As the typhoon kept gaining strength and approaching Taiwan over the past three hours, the Central Weather Bureau decided to issue a sea warning at 14:30 local time (07:30 CET)", senior forecaster Chen Yi-liang told AFP.
"Residents must heighten their vigilance."
Ahead of category five Typhoon Nepartak, some 3,000 tourists have been evacuated from the Green and Orchid Islands, two off-shore islands popular among tourists off south-eastern Taitung county, said local government officials.
The BBC cites the defence ministry, which reportedly said that about 35,000 soldiers have been put on standby.
Transport Minister Hochen Tan also assured citizens that measures have been taken to ensure Taoyuan Airport will not be flooded.
A storm is classed as a super typhoon if it reaches maximum sustained 1-minute surface winds of at least 65 m/s, the equivalent of a category-five hurricane in the Atlantic basin.
