The government issued warnings to residents in central mountain areas of landslides and flooding caused by the heavy rain, as mountain rivers already had begun to rise, threatening bridges and roads.

Shipping links between Taiwan's outlying islands of Quemoy and Matsu and the Chinese coastline were suspended as the storm approached, media said, with the central weather bureau saying Quemoy and Penghu island's would be directly threatened.

In Hong Kong, winds of up to 65 kmh (40 mph) caused flight delays and some shipping services were suspended, but the local weather observatory said the threat was receeding as Chanchu churned northwards.

In China, rescue ships and helicopters were standing by, and all sea transport to the Chinese island province of Hainan had been halted, official China Daily reported.

In the Philippines, Chanchu killed at least 37 people and "affected" about 53,300 people in wide areas of Luzon and the Visayas, the National Disaster Coordinating Council said in a report on Monday.