Thousands of tourists have been evacuated from offshore islands ahead of category five Typhoon Nepartak.
The super typhoon packed winds of up to 263km (163 miles) an hour, some 780km south-east of Taiwan`s Hualien city on Wednesday, officials said.
They also warned of the risk of flooding and mudslides 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 (06:30 GMT)", senior forecaster Chen Yi-liang told AFP.
"Residents must heighten their vigilance."
Around 3,000 tourists have been evacuated from the Green and Orchid Islands, two popular tourists spots off south-eastern Taitung county, said local government officials.
A storm is classed as a super typhoon if it reaches maximum sustained 1-minute surface winds of at least 65 m/s (145mph), the equivalent of a category-five hurricane in the Atlantic basin.
Typhoon Nepartak: Taiwan on high alert as storm approaches
07 July 2016
Read: 1015
Taiwan is bracing itself for the arrival of a vast typhoon, expected to hit the island in the next day.
-1780923278.jpg&h=190&w=280&zc=1&q=100)
