Taiwan issues land, sea warnings as typhoon draws closer

Taipei: Taiwan has issued a warning to all residents, after a typhoon drew closer to the island, weather forecasters said.

Typhoon Kalmaegi was expected to hit Taiwan later on Thursday before moving on to China, the island's Central Weather Bureau said.

The bureau issued wind and rain warnings for greater Taipei, the northern port city of Keelung and three other counties.

Boats off the south and east coasts were also warned.

"Rain will strengthen from Thursday morning in typhoon-affected areas," the bureau said in a statement on its website. "In eastern Taiwan, wind-blown waves will get quite large."

Kalmaegi would likely grow into a category 1 typhoon, Storm-tracker Tropical Storm Risk.

The storm will proceed to China, hitting the coast of Zhejiang province as early as Friday, Tropical Storm Risk said on its website.