TAIPEI - Taiwan braced on Thursday for the arrival of tropical storm Bilis, with heavy rains and strong winds already battering eastern parts of the island and forcing key ports, schools and offices to close.
By 0300 GMT, the eye of the storm, which killed four people in the Philippines, was about 190 km (118 miles) east of Taiwan and travelling northwest at 17 kph, with sustained winds of up to 90 kph and maximum gusts of 119 kph, Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau said.
Taiwan's two key ports, Keelung in the north and Kaohsiung in the south, halted operations, officials said.
County and city governments in the central parts of the island shut schools and offices but the capital Taipei was unaffected.
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
