Monster typhoon Meranti heads for Taiwan

Clocking sustained wind speeds of 295 kph, Super Typhoon Meranti, the strongest storm of 2016, us forecast to graze Taiwan on Wednesday before barreling into China.

The monster storm is the strongest recorded since 2013, when Super Typhoon Haiyan killed more than 6,000 people with a massive wave surge in the Philippines.

Meranti prompted Taiwan officials to evacuate nearly 1,800 tourists from offshore islands and close some schools and offices.

The storm produced gusts of 360 kph Tuesday morning, along with waves around 15 metres, the Joint Typhoon Warning Centre said.

Though predicted to weaken as it approaches land, Meranti is still expected to bring flooding rain, damaging winds and dangerous storm surge to Taiwan, according to AccuWeather.

In Taiwan, Meranti's peak impacts will be Wednesday, weather.com said.
 [bangkokpost.com]
14/9/16