Typhoon Matmo Slams Taiwan but Expected to Weaken Before Reaching China

Typhoon Matmo has slammed into Taiwan with heavy rains and strong winds going up to 173 kph (107 mph), shutting financial markets and schools and leaving one person killed.

The typhoon also left five people injured and damaged properties as it roared through the east Asian country.

A category two on Tropical Storm Risk's scale of one to five, Matmo made landfall early on Wednesday, the central weather bureau said.

A man in northern Taiwan died after falling into a pool on his farm, while other reports claim a tourist Is missing after taking pictures on a shore.

After Taiwan, Matmo is expected to continue northwest toward China. Interaction with terrain over Taiwan is expected to weaken the typhoon and bring wind speed down to 80 mph. With only a brief ride over the warm waters of the Taiwan Strait, no significant strengthening is expected before it makes landfall in mainland China.

Typhoons are common at this time of year in the South China Sea, picking up strength from the warm waters and dissipating over land.

Matmo was the first tropical storm to hit the island this year.

Taiwan's military had gathered and distributed sandbags in anticipation of flooding.

"At 8am, Typhoon Matmo was centred about 210km east-southeast of Xiamen. It is forecast to move northwest at about 20km/h towards the vicinity of Fujian," said a statement on the Hong Kong Observatory's website.

Earlier more than 5,000 tourists were evacuated from outlying islands as Matmo churned towards Taiwan, packing gusts of up to 173km/h. Some 5,400 tourists were evacuated from Green Island and Orchid Island, two popular scenic spots off the southeastern Taitung county.

Matmo arrived a week after Typhoon Rammasun killed 97 people in the Philippines and 46 in China, with 25 still missing. The China Meteorological Administration said Rammasun was the strongest storm to strike southern China since 1973.

It will be very hot in Hong Kong today, with maximum temperatures of 33 degrees Celsius, according to the Observatory.

Rammasun Toll at 46

Meanwhile the death toll from the strongest storm to hit China for decades, typhoon Rammasun, has reached 46 with another 25 missing, authorities said.

Typhoon Rammasun has left 19 people dead in south China's island province of Hainan, 18 in southwestern Yunnan and nine in neighbouring Guangxi, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said in a statement on its website.

Over 620,000 people have been relocated and some 252,000 are in need of "emergency aid", the statement said.

A total of 37,000 houses have been destroyed since the storm first made landfall in China on Friday afternoon as a super typhoon, packing winds exceeding 200 kilometres an hour.

The strongest typhoon to hit south China since 1973 also caused devastation in the southern Guangdong province. Rammasun -- meaning "Thunder God" in Thai -- has caused more than 120 deaths in the Philippines and Vietnam.