TAIPEI • Super typhoon Dujuan has killed at least three people and left over 300 injured in Taiwan after it swept across the island before making landfall in eastern China.

It hit the Chinese coastal city of Putian yesterday, with winds of up to 33m per second, the Fujian Meteorological Service said. Moving north-west at a weakening speed of 25kmh, it was forecast to reach Jiangxi province last night.

Airports in Fuzhou and Jinjiang have cancelled 103 flights since Monday, while the Xiamen Ferry Company cancelled all ferries yesterday. In Fuzhou, Ningde, Putian and Zhangzhou, schools were closed and more than 200 high- speed trains were suspended.

Xiamen's maritime fishery service said the typhoon coinciding with an astronomical tide caused severe flooding on Monday night and yesterday morning. Tens of thousands of boats were called back to shore in Zhejiang and neighbouring Fujian province.

Many of those injured in Taiwan were hit by flying debris or involved in traffic accidents, the Emergency Operation Centre said.

Severe winds uprooted trees and smashed windows while heavy rain triggered multiple landslides.

More than 12,000 people were evacuated and almost 3,000 were in temporary shelters, the authorities said. Over 175,000 homes were still without electricity yesterday.

One of the dead was a 54-year- old man swept into the air by winds at a construction site. A 70-year- old man died after a fall and a 41-year-old woman was killed in a car accident.

Landslides blocked the roads into the hot spring town of Wulai, in mountains just outside the capital Taipei. It was the latest hit for Wulai, which was severely damaged by flooding and landslides last month when Typhoon Soudelor struck, with some residents unable to return home for weeks. Many shops and hotels were still rebuilding as the latest typhoon struck.

Dujuan was categorised as a super typhoon by regional forecasters, taking residents by surprise as it sped up before making landfall late on Monday in the eastern county of Yilan. It was downgraded to a moderate typhoon by Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau as it crossed the island.

Schools and offices in Taiwan closed yesterday, as did the stock market. At the peak of the storm, two million homes were left without electricity.

Towering waves crashed through windows at a seaside hotel in eastern Yilan while fierce winds also caused damage at Taipei's famous 101 skyscraper.

In Hsinchu city, a crane fell from 20 storeys onto cars below but no one was injured, local reports said.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, XINHUA