Taiwan cancels airline flights as typhoon approaches

Airline flights, ferries and train services were cancelled as Typhoon Chanthu roared toward Taiwan on Saturday and authorities warned of high wind and heavy rain along the island's south and east coast.

Taipei: Airline flights, ferries and train services were cancelled as Typhoon Chanthu roared toward Taiwan on Saturday and authorities warned of high wind and heavy rain along the island's south and east coast.

Chanthu's center was forecast to pass Taiwan's east coast on Sunday, but its edge should dump rain on the land, the Central Wealth Bureau announced.

Chanthu was southeast of Taiwan's southern tip, moving north with winds of 173 kph (108 mph) and gusts up to 209 kph (130 mph), according to the CWB.

Earlier, the storm grazed the northeastern coast of the major island of Luzon in the Philippines, but no flooding or damage was reported.

The southern part of Taiwan was under a typhoon warning issued on Friday.

Dozens of domestic and international flights were cancelled, the Central News Agency reported. It said 46 ferries to Matsu and other outlying islands were canceled and some train service in southern Taiwan was suspended. (AP)