Waves five meters high swept its shores Taiwan today Wednesday, as he approaches the country o typhoon kong-reiwith forecasters predicting that the storm will strengthen before reaching this island and is expected to be one of the strongest to hit the region in years.

The gale-force winds accompanying Kong-rae are in some cases exceeding 230 km/h as it approaches the coastline, according to the latest bulletin from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, a weather center of the US military.

The typhoon is expected to pack “catastrophic” winds when it makes landfall tomorrow in southeastern Taiwan, the least populated part of the island of 23 million people, which is already at the mercy of monsoons.

More than a meter of rain could fall by Friday in the worst-hit areas, prompting authorities to evacuate thousands of people from their homes in the most vulnerable areas as a precaution.

Kong-rei is so far stronger than Typhoon Gemi, the biggest storm to hit Taiwan in eight years when it arrived in July.

Taiwanese authorities closed schools and offices today on islands located in eastern Taitung County, the area where the typhoon is expected to make a direct hit.

Tomorrow, classes and all forms of employment will be suspended in various cities and provinces.

In addition, dozens of ferry routes and domestic flights were canceled today.

The heaviest rains are expected on the eastern and northern coasts, as well as mountainous parts in the center and north, according to the Central Meteorological Administration.

Yilan and Hualien County, to the east, are expected to be hardest hit, with rainfall amounts between 800 and 1,200 millimeters expected between Tuesday and Friday, meteorologist Zhang Chun-yao told AFP.

Authorities today began evacuating residents in eight counties and cities, including Yilan, Hualien and Taitung.

By nightfall, more than 6,200 people had been forced to flee their homes.

At the same time, Interior Minister Liu Shih-fang expressed concern over the fate of two Czech tourists who were hiking in Taroko, near Hualien, and whose relatives could not be traced on their mobile phones today.

In the Philippines, more than 174,000 people fled their homes as the typhoon passed through the northern island of Luzon, days after a storm killed at least 145 people.