TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) -- Typhoon Sinlaku slammed into Taiwan with heavy rain and strong winds Sunday, flooding low-lying regions and causing landslides that disrupted traffic and halted trains and domestic flights, officials said.
Sinlaku made landfall in coastal Ilan County in northeast Taiwan at 1:30 a.m. local time (1730 GMT), but quickly turned away and headed back out to sea, the Central Weather Bureau said.
"It's hanging around at the ocean near our coasts," said meteorologist Lee Hsiang-yuan. "It may move north, but we will not rule out another landfall on Taiwan."
Domestic flights were canceled, trains stopped running and several mountain highways were blocked by landslides, according to the Disaster Relief Center.
The center warned that 55 rivers are prone to flash flooding and warned people living nearby to take precautions.
More than 300 people were evacuated overnight from low-lying areas in Taoyuan and Hsinchu counties in northern Taiwan, it said.
As of 10 a.m. Sunday in Taipei, Sinlaku was centered at sea about 6 miles off Keelung in the northern tip of Taiwan, packing winds of 78 miles per hour, the Central Weather Bureau said.
Sinlaku, named for a Micronesian goddess, is expected to move northeast toward Japan later Sunday, the bureau said.
Typhoons frequently hit Taiwan between July and September, often causing casualties in mountainous regions that are prone to landslides and flash floods.http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/09/14/taiwan.typhoon.ap/index.html
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