TAIPEI: Thousands of tourists were evacuated from islands off Taiwan Sunday as super typhoon Dujuan gathered strength on its approach to the island.

Taiwan’s weather bureau upgraded Dujuan to a “strong typhoon” — it’s top category — on Sunday evening as the storm approached the island’s east.

Other regional weather bureaus, including the Hong Kong Observatory, categorised it as a “super typhoon” as it intensified to reach gusts of 227 kilometres per hour.

Almost 3,000 people, most of them tourists, were evacuated from Taiwan’s Green Island and Orchid Island — popular with visitors — with heavy rains and high tides forecast.

The typhoon is due to make landfall in eastern Taiwan on Monday night.

“It is not likely to weaken in any significant way before making landfall, “a spokesman for the weather bureau said.

More than 24,000 troops are on standby for disaster relief and evacuations from areas prone to landslides and flooding.

Emergency response centres have been set up in the north and east, where heavy rain is expected, as well as 100 shelters.

Published in Dawn, September 28th , 2015

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